Job, Daniel, Ignatius, and the COVID spiritual pandemic

Compare current events to Job. A brief recap: Job endured poverty, sickness, and loss of loved ones due to an assault initiated by Satan.  Satan accused Job before God of mercenary faith (Job 1:9-11) and had divine permission to afflict him (1:12, 2:6). God affirmed His approval of Job (1:8, 2:3), who was not without faults. Job cursed the day of his birth, implicitly saying that God was unfair in creating him and then inflicting such pain on him (chapter 3). And Job was self-righteous, believing that his good works were not being fairly rewarded by God. (31:35-40) Ultimately God did not show Job the spiritual contest between Himself and Satan, but that the magnificence of His creation, and inherently Himself, was beyond Job’s comprehension. (Chapters 38-39)

When Daniel was visited and learned of heavenly warfare (Daniel 10), he had been fasting and praying for Israel for 21 days. It is really not appropriate for us to litigate and try to determine whether the archon, the prince of China - Yu Huang, the Jade Emperor, or some other ancient figure of Chinese tradition - is behind COVID-19.. It is also irrelevant:

• The Bible is clear that worship of all other gods is idolatry, and must not happen, so as not to be a snare to believers. Even pagan gods that appear to stand for divinely directed virtue.
• The Chinese Communist government does not acknowledge any supernatural existence or authority, following the Marxist tenet that religion is the opiate of the people.
• That’s not what this is about.

We must tread carefully about disrespecting spiritual authorities, even fallen ones. Gabriel fought the prince of Persia without prevailing (Daniel 10:13), the archangels dare not rebuke the devil on their own authority. (Jude 8-9) We must tread carefully here, because this realm is far beyond our comprehension.

The important point of the Daniel narrative is that Daniel wasn’t praying about Persia or spiritual powers. He was most likely praying about the Jewish people and their sin, and pleading for their redemption - the theme of his later life. (Daniel 9:4-19) What does this mean for us? Since nothing is allowed to happen without God’s permission, God has allowed this pandemic for His purposes. Our response to the pandemic must focus, like Daniel, on repentance and redemption. 

The discernment of spirits must focus on our own affections, thoughts, and will, as in the Ignatian discipline. We must discern whether our actions arise from godly or evil sources. Are individuals’ refusal to wear a mask, or rulers’ actions to control all public activities, at their root, from a godly desire to help people or an evil desire to promote self? Every private person, every politician, every public health expert, must examine themself. 

Is rejection of public or personal health measures born of a rebellious heart? (‘They don’t have the authority to make me do that! They don’t know anything!’) Is the imposition of draconian controls on the life and behavior of citizens really the manifestation of a self-exultation of personal ego? (‘I know what is best! I know that if everyone does what I say, things will work out for the best.’) How will each of us fare in our day of reckoning, as when God spoke revelation into Job’s life? Will He find that we rebel against authority in our spirit as the Israelites did in the wilderness (Numbers 16-17), or that we see ourselves as equal to or above Him, like Lucifer?  (Ezekiel 28:2).