I recently found a website where people in my city can submit questions to be answered by a city official. “Are books in the library being sterilized?” “What’s the procedure for dealing with a traffic accident during lockdown?” And my favorite (having likely been the subject of this question), “How do I make sure my foreign neighbor who just returned from overseas complies with the self-quarantine regulations?”

One question in particular grabbed my attention: “My life is so disrupted, and I often cannot sleep. What should I do?” I imagine this poor soul, up late after scrolling the media reports, overwhelmed by the darkness of the night and the news, posting this question in desperation.

How many millions of times is this scene being repeated each night across my country and the rest of the world? I know these personal crises, big and small, are all around me. I texted one of my local friends who’s been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but has been stable recently. She responded, “I’m in a bad state right now and can’t leave my room.” A friend of my husband’s, an experienced technology designer in his 50s, just lost his job when his company decided to start layoffs with the highest-paid employees.

My husband and I have shared the truth multiple times with these two friends. They, like many people who typically keep themselves busy and distracted, are suddenly unable to avoid the questions in the backs of their minds. All we can do right now is pray that the current crisis will convince them to turn to the God of hope.

I, too, am daily turning to the God of hope. Most days, I barely keep my head above the waters of mayhem that sweep through my home in the form of three energetic children. I’m facing my own heart when the distractions of ministry and relationships are taken away. I’m seeing how easily I can rely on those activities to feel successful, accomplished, and important. I’ve lamented the small and big evils of this virus — from my cancelled plans to the thousands of people alone in hospitals around the world. And I’ve been filled with hopeful expectation.

I don’t yet know how or if my life may intersect with the people struggling around me. But whether I get to see the fruit that will be borne from this tragedy or not, I’m confident that we worship a God who has never and will never remove His steadfast love from us.

Let’s pray with the psalmist: “God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us — that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You” (Psalm 67:1-3, NASB).

Crossworld worker Chloe Wilson (a pseudonym) and her family make disciples in East Asia.