Blessings in a Difficult Time

I watched a sermon the other day about the good things that can come out of this Coronavirus pandemic.  No doubt, it is a terrible disease and sadly, many will not recover from it.  However, we know that God works all things for good for those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose.   The pastor detailed several “fringe benefits” that will come from the fear surrounding the situation and the stay-at-home orders, such as families spending quality time together, people turning to the Lord, and folks having time to read their bibles.  I have one more to add:  in many places, abortion clinics are being shut down as non-essential businesses.   Praise God for that one!

So far (and this could change as courts get involved and other factors evolve), Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Mississippi and Alabama have all banned surgical abortions during this crisis, as non-essential procedures.  The governors behind these decisions have made them on the basis that they need to reserve equipment and personnel as they prepare to fight the epidemic.  Mississippi’s governor, Tate Reeves, who has worked for years to limit and end abortions in Mississippi, recently said that he considers all abortions elective and unnecessary. 

"We're doing everything in our power, and have for many years, to make Mississippi the safest place in America for unborn children," Reeves said.

 As always, there are the misguided people protesting this and deriding the government for trying to “force” them to have a baby they don’t want.  And no doubt there will be people who take matters into their own hands and try to perform unsafe abortions themselves.  For now, let’s just thank God for the babies that will be saved by this outbreak and the resulting closures.  As William Cowper wrote, “God moves in a mysterious way”!