Given the global pandemic which emerged in 2020, many believers have understandably raised questions concerning how it was not foreseen by those who claim insight into God’s purposes, how it may relate to God’s purposes, and most pressingly, how we should position ourselves in a world struggling to deal with this seemingly unstoppable force and provide a voice from the church.

The purpose of this paper is not necessarily to try to answer these questions fully, but instead to consider what the Scriptures tell us about providence, in order to provide a secure foundation and bring clarity to our thinking, enabling us to speak into the emotive issues involved. This paper is not designed to be in any way exhaustive, given the sheer breadth of the subject matter, but hopefully a useful introduction.