I received an email today which included the following questions: What are we to think about the Corona Virus, the nation's/world's response to it?  The collapse of our economy, the sequestering of peoples.  Are we in the tribulation, last days?  How does this fit into prophecy?  How do I manage the fear I have for the safety of my children, grandchildren, and for our jobs and abilities to buy food and survive?  I feel ill equipped to navigate these waters. 

Do you have an answer for everything? Is it reasonable to expect this from anyone? I have called you to have an answer for the hope that lies within you, but this is not the same thing and is not nearly so ambitious as having an answer for everything. Do you understand that you are engaged with an infinite divine mystery? Do you know that it is OK to admit that there are things you don’t understand? Why do believers so readily accept the premise that they must be able to answer every question? Witnesses can only testify to what they have experienced firsthand.

Are you familiar with the story of the wheat and the tares? Wheat is valuable and tares are weeds. The workers volunteered to remove the tares immediately, but the master was concerned that the wheat would be damaged in the process, so they were allowed to grow together and separated at the time of harvest. How eager are you to judge those things that need to be removed and condemned? I’m willing to be patient and allow them to grow side by side. There is another reason for this besides the concern for damage to the growing crop. In the economy of my kingdom tares can become wheat.

Do you have answers for all your questions? Are you uncomfortable having unanswered questions? How eager are you to accept the first answer that comes along to resolve this discomfort? Have you ever accepted an answer that you later found to be wrong because you were too quick to resolve the issue? It is better to have no answer than to be convinced of the wrong answer. Learn to be patient with your questions. You can live with them, and walk with them as friends.