Growing Faith in the Midst of COVID-19
Over a year ago, most of us never imagined that we would face a global pandemic—an experience that would come with isolation from loved ones, new social distancing and mask requirements, financial hardship, concern over contracting the virus or infecting the vulnerable, and drastic changes to the way we do almost everything. You might expect that this crisis has challenged many people’s faith, causing them to doubt what they believe. But surprisingly, just the opposite is true. In spite of—or perhaps because of—the pandemic, many people’s faith has been strengthened.
Last spring, a Pew Research Center survey showed that 24% of American adults felt that their faith had been strengthened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That percentage was higher for Christians, with 35% testifying to stronger faith. In contrast, only 2% (of both all adults and Christians specifically) said the pandemic weakened their faith (Gecewicz). A more recent survey report from January 2021 confirmed similar results, with 28% of all surveyed U.S. adults saying that their faith is stronger now (Pew Research Center).
Why? I would certainly count this as a hidden blessing of the past year, but what about COVID-19 has prompted this stronger faith in so many? Here are a few thoughts:
Faith helps us know we are not alone.
Our faith offers us fellowship with both other humans and with the Lord—a most welcome message in an era of isolation, quarantine, and social distancing. Even though many churches had to temporarily stop meeting in person or move services online, in the Church we have a global and local body of believers forming a community united in Christ even when physically apart. But even when we are completely alone in a human sense, we always have access to the omnipresent God who never leaves us.
Difficult times cause us to really evaluate what we believe.
Sometimes, it takes the normal routine being shaken up and disrupted to grow our faith. If, like me, you’ve grown up in and around church, you might sometimes have that little niggling doubt in the back of your mind, asking if you really truly believe and are committed to your faith, or if you’re just going along with what has always been the status quo for you. But when something comes that shakes up the status quo, that’s when you have to decide. Times of crisis force us to get serious with our faith and rely on God rather than on ourselves.
Faith offers solid ground during a time of turmoil.
When the world is turned upside down, what do we have to fall back on? Faith acts as an anchor in the storm, if you’ll forgive that cliché. When our environment is chaotically tossing about, we can find what’s solid and latch onto it for support. It may seem like everything has fallen apart—like everything has changed, but deep at its core, nothing has. Not God’s character. Not His control over our universe. Not our value as image bearers. Not our place as His children if we believe in Jesus Christ.
It’s okay to not be totally okay right now. Of course we are going to have human reactions of anxiety to so many changes. But remember that in the end, everything really is going to be okay—we’re promised that (Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away”). But even if everything’s not okay now, God stays with us, and He is in control. God can use anything and everything for good. Let Him strengthen your faith through the hard times.
Works Cited
Gecewicz, Claire. “Few Americans say their house of worship is open, but a quarter say their faith has grown amid pandemic.” Pew Research Center, 30 April 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/30/few-americans-say-their-house-of-worship-is-open-but-a-quarter-say-their-religious-faith-has-grown-amid-pandemic.
Pew Research Center. “More Americans Than People in Other Advanced Economies Say COVID-19 Has Strengthened Religious Faith.” 27 Jan. 2021, www.pewforum.org/2021/01/27/more-americans-than-people-in-other-advanced-economies-say-covid-19-has-strengthened-religious-faith