For me, till that point in time, COVID-19 was really about news in the media, new arrangements in daily routines and looking out for the vulnerable as a Church.

So when it hit me that the virus was within my body, the pandemic went from being a global phenomenon to a wild and jarring personal reality.

My wife tested positive two days before me, and my first thoughts were for my family, especially my two young boys.

There was a part of me that wondered if God was mad at me, or if I did something wrong to deserve this.

However, I also realised it’s in times like this that the devil will plant thoughts of confusion and condemnation in our hearts.

The enemy of our souls will make us wonder if God is truly a good Father and if He sincerely loves His children.

The evil one can also remind us of our failures in such times and how we “deserve” these ordeals.

So yes, I was bombarded with those thoughts in that period of time.

Yet, by His grace, I was reminded that we are called to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

What that meant for me was to reframe my emotions and perception of reality — not according to the voices of the world or the voices in my head, but according to how God’s Word would interpret them.

God’s Word will decide the narrative in my mind, not anything else. God’s truth will define my reality, not something else.

The seemingly “bad” things in our lives can and will be used by our loving Father for His good purposes.

His Word tells us that no weapon formed against us shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17), and that everything in our lives will work together for the good of all who love Him (Romans 8:28).

That’s powerful, if you ask me.

As sons and daughters of the Most High God, we can be rest assured that even the seemingly “bad” things in our lives can and will be used by our loving Father for His good purposes.

He is all-powerful, He is good and He is faithful to His own.

Our loving Father is not one who inflicts pain on those with weak faith. That’s just not His nature.

So if you are ever infected by Covid-19 and think that it is the result of your weak faith, I would encourage you to trust in His love for you once again and reject that thought from the evil one.

Our loving Father is not one who inflicts pain on those with weak faith. That’s just not His nature.

Jesus loves you and He is with you on this journey. He has a purpose for what you are going through. Trust Him. He can be trusted.

We all know that the Christian life is not one void of suffering.

And sometimes, just like Job, we may not always have the answers to the “whys” of pain and suffering while we are still journeying through the tunnel.

Yet given some time, we can be certain that we will eventually be able to join the dots and see what our Father is accomplishing for His beloved sons and daughters in seasons as such. 

These nuggets of wisdom have been adapted from our full article — you can read Pastor Zac’s whole journey from diagnosis to recovery here!