There has been good news this week. We hear the usual cliches - “light at the end of the tunnel,” “pushing through to the end,” and “double down on our efforts.” We can make it, we need to hang in there.
The source of all this optimism is the news that two pharmaceutical companies are reporting 90% and 95% effectiveness in new COVID-19 vaccines, drugs that could be ready for release early in the new year. Think of it - by next summer we may be able to enjoy gatherings of all kinds, be free of masks, travel. It will be wondrous.
I can’t wait! It can’t come soon enough.
Of course, all of this is speculation. Voices of caution tell us there are still studies to be completed, peer review of the science, and regulatory standards to be met. Regardless, there is hope. Not just because this is the news we want to hear but because the sources of this good news have credibility (a good track record) and confidence in the depth of their resources (the skill and knowledge of the scientists, the dollars of investors, the production of their factories). There is good reason to have hope!
Meanwhile, we wait.
Words Matter: Hope.
By its very nature, hope is deferred and thrives when we are in stress. As much as we don’t like being stressed, it is when hope can soar. Hope does not exist in a vacuum. It is not self-existent. Like faith, hope requires an object.
In ancient days the psalmist warned against misplaced hope. Things like horses and chariots, an abundance of crops, and strong fortresses all served to provide a sense of security against threats. They reduced stress. And they were woefully poor and inadequate sources of hope.
The LORD looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men;
From His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
He who fashions the hearts of them all,
He who understands all their works.
The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
(Psa 33:13-17 NASB)
Our hope is in God.
That is not to isolate God from the stuff of life - from armies, horses, houses, large crops, or vaccines. But they are only instruments through which God works. The are not the object of our hope. Only God is.
We do not want to create a false barrier between faith and science. We acknowledge that whatever science accomplishes, it does so because God is the Creator of all things. All truth is God’s truth. Vaccines can exist because of the nature of God’s created order. But our hope is in God.
God has a good track record (credibility) and depth of resource (we can have confidence in Him). Jeremiah put it this way:
This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"Therefore I have hope in Him."
(Lam 3:21-24 NASB)
I am cheering for the researchers and scientists, financiers and policy makers, logistics and distribution planners as they anticipate bringing medical relief to the problem of COVID-19. Or, to say the same thing in a faith-based context, I’m excited to see how God is using His image-bearers, gifted with diverse skill-sets, to resolve a dysfunction in His creation because of sin. But I will not worship the process or the product. I will still worship God.
And in Him we have hope! (Even if the vaccine doesn’t work, the distribution breaks down, the money dries up . . . Habakkuk 3:17-19.)
