We are entering the 9th month of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it seems to have no end. When will the masks be in the garage sale pile and the Clorox wipes be on sale again? When will we be able to hug our friends and shake hands with a stranger? And when, oh when, asks my 4-year-old, will indoor playgrounds and the Icee machine at Target be open again? It feels like these “uncertain times” have been going on forever!

But the only one who knows the true feeling of “forever” is God. In the beginning, before anything was made, God was there (Genesis 1:1). God has no beginning and no end, which means he always was, and always is. God’s power has never changed, either. God has always been, and always will be all-knowing and all-powerful. In a world that always changes, God never does.

While God is eternal, we are not. Because of our sin, we will someday die. Because of our sin, life on earth will be filled with sorrow and pain. Because of our sin, because of our parents’ sins, and because of the sins of every generation before and after, we deserve the punishment of death and the punishment of eternal separation from God in hell.

When we suffer in this life, we forget that God is in control and will never leave us or forsake us. We sin when we forget that our God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and unchanging. We also sin when we trust anything over God. In these “uncertain times” we can sometimes put our trust into worldly things such as science, social organizations and people, or even ourselves. Sometimes we place these worldly things above God.

But our loving, all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal God is the “remedy” for our sin. He is our “dwelling place”, as the Psalm says, our shelter. He sent his son, in our place, to die for our sins, our parent’s sins, and the sins of every generation before and after. Because of Jesus, when God looks at us he sees purity and righteousness. Because of Jesus, we have been freely given a place in heaven, where we will live eternally with Him.