Enemies and Disasters Lead to New Beginnings and Hopes

04-17-2020

By Dhanushka Dilshan

In this global pandemic circumstances, I, as an international student, up to now have felt fine physically. Especially at this time, I would like to give my gratitude to McCormick Theological Seminary for helping international students in this chaotic pandemic. At the moment, I am worried about people who are suffering without proper health care systems, which is the case in most countries. Including churches, many people emphasize the COVID-19 pandemic as an enemy. I agree with this. In the Bible, we can see there are always enemies and disasters. These enemies and disasters, however, lead to new beginnings and new hopes.

In the Old Testament, there is the story of Adam and Eve’s exile, Noah facing the flood, and Israelites exodus from slavery and an oppressed life in Egypt. In the New Testament, there was Jesus’s birth amid the death and murder of children, Christ’s crucifixion, and persecutions in the early church. After all these incidents, or enemies, people experienced a new hope and a new beginning. I know this is not a calm time for many of us.

We may feel like the people who were in those hard incidents in the biblical narratives. But do not forget, after all, after their trials, they experienced new hope and new beginnings. So, I believe this enemy will give us a new beginning and from this disaster a new hope for all of us. Stay safe my dear friends.