As Veith reminds us, for believers, EVERYTHING is at least allowed, if not instigated by God.
I like his concluding paragraphs:
Those of us who had become so complacent, so “carnally secure,” are so no longer. We might catch the disease from an asymptomatic carrier and in two weeks be dead. And even if we don’t, our prosperity, our recreation, our social ties, our sense of well-being, are all threatened. We have taken so much for granted, but the epidemic shows just how contingent it all is, how fragile and transient these things are, and how we need to build our lives on something–and Someone–eternal. Becoming less secure in ourselves can drive us to Christ, who bore the evils and the suffering of the world, to bring us to an eternal happiness that is not of this world.Growth requires "pain" ... see exercise, study, investment - delayed gratification, work, etc.
All of this is horrible for us to go through. But I suspect God believes that we need to go through it.
Spiritual life / growth is no exception -- YES, justification is a free gift from God, sanctification is to some degree (hopefully often joyful), WORK!
Hopefully Covid reminds us that we are not nearly as powerful / in control as we often think, and, that Christ IS both powerful and eternally in control!
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