Happy Sabbath to all!
I wanted to put together some personal reflections concerning the unusual time we are in.
Viruses have come and gone in the past. There has been sickness and sadly death, but we have never, in my 68 years, had a shut down like we have with the current plague.
It is hard to imagine how quickly we arrived where we are at today.
Consider that the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 29,551.42 on Feb. 12, 2020. The world was fairly stable on that day. The COVID-19 virus was in the news, but it was primarily on the other side of the world.
Six weeks later the Dow Jones Average closed at 21,413.44. A most significant drop in 6 weeks. When you consider a 30% drop in that economic barometer that is an indication of a lot wealth that is gone. Will the stock market come back over time?
Companies are closing, laying off, cutting salaries and people are worried about how they will survive economically after we get past the impact of the virus. Which companies will survive the carnage and who will have jobs?
Huge stimulus bills have been passed. One bill was 2 trillion. What will be the long-term impact of such a huge spending bill? Will that 2 trillion solve our woes or will more be needed? What will the tax bill be after this is over?
Will the virus burn out with the heat of summer? Or will it come back in a more virulent form at some point in the future.
It is amazing how quickly governments have intervened to take control or try to take control of the situation. Is this the shape of things to come as to how the sinister forces at the end of the age will impose their authority over nations and people?
Most astounding of all, in my opinion, we may not have much of a baseball season if we have one at all.
The bottom line is there is currently a lot of uncertainty. None of us knows exactly what lies on the other side of the COVID-19 virus. At present, uncertainty is a worldwide condition. Uncertainty is fundamental to the world in which we live apart from God and it always will be.
But we through God and His word can see beyond all of the current upheaval and uncertainty. God offers us certainty and stability.
Consider the Sabbath. It comes every seventh day. That is a certainty. We are reassured by the Sabbath that God’s plan to usher in a time of rest is coming.
Consider the Passover. The Passover comes every year and, at that memorial, we renew our covenant with God and Jesus Christ. We are reassured that we are forgiven of our sins and stand justly before God.
Additionally, as we keep the Days of Unleavened Bread, we are assured that just as God intervened to save Israel out of Egypt, God is going to save us from this uncertain world and just as He led Israel to the promised land He will lead us to the eternal life in His kingdom.
Consider Paul’s reassurance in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Enjoy the certainty and reassurance of God’s Sabbath’s and Holy Days.
Gary Smith
