All will end well

We shouldn't exist as a nation.  The odds were too great; the circumstances too difficult. And, then they got worse.

It is 1775. 

The economy is wrecked.  Supply of goods and services from Britain has been compromised; normal commerce is no more.  Fortunes have been decimated.

The Continental Army is slowing dwindling due to desertion.  The British are in the process of bringing stronger military leaders and more troops.  Then, a smallpox epidemic already present hits the Northeast with intensity.  For those who contract the disease, one third will die.  Those that survive will have experienced fever, exhaustion and open sores that affect the skin, the mouth and throat for weeks.  They may make full recovery, but many will go blind or enter into dementia.

In the midst of all of this, there is a dynamo at work, bringing order to the chaos.  His name is George Washington.  Losing Washington would be crippling beyond recovery.  Isn't it interesting, that at least in terms of small pox, Washington was in no danger?  Years before, a young George had accompanied his older brother Lawrence to Barbados in an attempt to heal Lawrence's tuberculosis.  While there, he contracted small pox and suffered with the effects for a month, the pock marks on his face a testimony to his survival.

Circumstances are dire in most every way.  What grounds Washington so that he is not overwhelmed at the immensity of the challenge?  He describes it this way: "I flatter myself that a superintending Providence is ordering everything for the best, and that, in due time, all will end well." 

Unprecedented

The word "unprecedented" means to have no point of reference in the past, something that has never happened before.  We use it all the time, but we generally exaggerate.  We could identify something in the past that is exactly like what we have referred to as "unprecedented".

The current life situation for the world IS unprecedented.  Not from a health perspective.  There have been epidemics and pandemics galore.  What is unprecedented is our response to this health crisis and what may happen as a result.  The economy, for the most part, is shut down.  The markets continue to churn; the banks continue to operate; but, the mechanisms for production have been thoroughly compromised.

I am not an economist nor the son of an economist.  Still, I think I can declare this: economists have no idea what is going to happen; governments have no idea what is going to happen; the media has no idea what is going to happen.  The future is unclear.

As a result, we live in a time where fear can breed.  In the face of fear, Christians bring some things to the table that others cannot.  First, we bring courage.  We know that whatever happens we have a Father that is intimately aware of us and of our need.   That knowledge gives us the security to move into each day of a coronavirus impacted world. Secondly, we bring hope.  Not the hope of the world where hope is generally a psychological ploy to believe even though you don't believe.  The hope of Christianity is a living hope.  He inspires in us confident expectation, not resigned "hope though there is no hope".  Third, we bring good news.  We can bring to an uncertain world the news that there is One who "sees all things the end from the beginning" and will not leave us nor forsake us.  That He has proved his devotion to us by giving himself into death, reclaiming life and living again.

We can deliver this message best from a position of confident expectation.  Be blessed; stay safe.