Some of you will remember the polio outbreaks in the 1940’s and 50’s. In 1949, polio infected more than 42,000 people and caused 2,720 deaths in the United States. In comparison, the present pandemic has infected the same number of people and already caused more than 500 deaths in the U.S. in just the past two weeks. The total number of those infected who will die can’t be known yet because more than 41,000 of the 42,000 infected are still sick.

These numbers are jumping higher and higher every day and experts are predicting that up to 80% of Americans will get the infection over the next 18 months. That would mean 2.2 million deaths if rates stay the same; which no one really knows, of course.

So that’s 2,700 deaths in one year from the last great polio outbreak verses a possibility of 2.2 million deaths from this disease in the next year and a half. To put that in perspective, about 425,000 Americans died as a result of World War II. This is five times higher than that. That’s probably the worst-case scenario, but it’s the outcome that all these drastic measures we’re seeing are trying to prevent.

How do you feel about that? Many people don’t want to think about it. Sure, we know that some day we’ll all die, but modern medicine has gotten us to believe that with good living and the proper medical care the chances of dying young are pretty slim. This outbreak has destroyed that myth for many people. And it’s not just death that’s the problem. The worst-case scenario suggests that as many as 150 million Americans could be infected and become very, very sick. And if that happens, our health care system will become almost useless.

It’s too bad we can’t just turn back the clock and avoid this outbreak. But the fact is that it’s here and we don’t know how bad it will get. Maybe it will just go away on it’s own, but probably not. Maybe “social distancing” will slow it down so that a treatment or cure can be found. We just don’t know.

Up until 150 years ago, this is the way that most people lived. They didn’t have time to react before their village was raided or a disease came into their town. Most people in the history of the world were one failed crop or sickness or accident from not making it through the Winter. Starvation. Disease. Accidents. War. The course of your life could change in a matter of weeks, days, or hours.

This is the circumstance in which the Bible was written – along with most history and literature. But we have been mostly insulated from all of that. We have been led to believe that we have 70 or 80 or more years all but guarenteed to us if we wear our seatbelts, quit smoking, stay away from drugs, don’t drink and drive, and so on. And for many people it’s been true! I would have died three years ago, at age 51, if it wasn’t for angioplasty and heart stents which are about as routine today as getting a hip or knee replacement.

We have been fooled to believe we can put off thinking about such grave and serious issues as severe illness, hardship, or death. We ALL need to think about it, talk about it, learn about it, and pray about it.

Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Jesus is not here telling us to disregard our needs and to expect that God is going to super-naturally fill our refrigerators with food. He’s certainly not saying we can drive 100 miles per hour and throw all caution to the wind. No. The Word of God is clear that we are to work and save and prepare for the future. But what Jesus is talking about in the Sermon on the Mount is that we should not be worried or overly worried to the point of anxiety over things that we cannot control. Birds can’t grow their own food. They don’t farm or store up food. And God knows this about birds and provides for them.

In the same way, God knows what you can and cannot control. We should think about that, too. Can you wash your hands? Can you keep from going out for a few weeks? Can you cover your cough and get the right medical care when you need it? Of course! But for those things that you cannot do anything about, remember that your Father in heaven knows what you will need and He is not caught off guard.

What we all NEED to do is think about first things first. There is a time and place for everything. But it’s ALWAYS the time and place to rely upon God — to “seek the kingdom of heaven” and to remember that your right-relationship with God comes not by your own efforts or accomplishments or worthiness but by His Love and His Salvation given through Jesus Christ, His Son. We have our jobs. Jesus has His job. We do what we can. He has done what only He could do.

Please join me in Prayer:

“Lord Jesus. There is much that we can and should do for ourselves and for each other which you have made us able to do. And we need your forgiveness for having not been as responsible with the things you have given us as we should have been. But even more, we need you to watch over us and do for us what we cannot do: to give us forgiveness and salvation by your love so that we do not despair or lose hope. Bless all your people with your promise and your peace – especially those who are ill and all those who are frantically trying to help and serve them. We ask it in your gracious name, Lord Jesus. Amen.”