As of right now, 3/30/2020 at approximately 10pm EST, there have been 3,167 deaths in the United States due to COVID-19, the Coronavirus.

This is incredibly sad for all of us, and yet we haven’t even gotten close to the peak or apex, considering most states are reporting an increase of 20-30% in diagnosed cases daily.

There are so many theories, preconceived notions, beliefs of origin and reasons for the spread, and a million other things to do with politics, the economy, the world power race and where we will all end up because of it… this is NOT a post about that.

And we’ve seen many posts trying to minimize it, which of course is leading to it’s continued spread. This isn’t a post about THAT either.

3,167 deaths can be considered a lot, especially since it concerns something we know nothing about.
How about the deaths that we DO know something about?

• Approximately 149,490 people have died from cancer since 1/1/2020.
• One American dies approximately every 37 seconds from cardiovascular disease; 647,000 a year.
• One American dies approximately every 50 minutes from drunk driving; 10,585 deaths a year.
• Between 29,000 and 59,000 Americans died from the different strains of Influenza this past flu season.
• Approximately 9,900 Americans have died due to non alcohol related vehicle accidents since 1/1/2020.
• Using the average of the past 3 years, it is estimated that almost 3,100 Christians worldwide have been martyred/killed for their faith so far this year. (About the same number of Coronavirus cases so far)

“But these numbers have nothing to do with Coronvirus!” “You can’t compare them!” “Apples to oranges!”

You’re right- circumstantially they cannot be compared. They really don’t have anything to do with one another…. but it DOES give us perspective on how frail our lives truly are. It should give us a pause in our spirit to think that at any moment, regardless of our plans for the future, our work ethic, our financial status, our worldly security….. it can all be gone in an instant.

It should give us a pause to think not just “big picture”, but BIGGEST picture. Our time on Earth is so short, so quick and over in the blink of an eye- but what about eternity?

Out of the hundreds of thousands of lives lost due to COVID-19, heart disease, addictions, car accidents, the flu, shark attacks or whatever else we can think of- how many knew Jesus? How many are now spending all of time in eternal glory with The King?

THAT is what this post is about.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”
Revelation 3:20

Jesus is knocking!! He was before Coronavirus, and He will continue to afterward; it will ALWAYS be up to you to open the door to Him. He’s not going to barge in, He’s not going to open for Himself, you’ve got to do it willingly. And what an absolute relief it is when we let Him in, and He dines with us, and guides us through our lives. He has a perfect plan for you, a perfect plan for me- and all we need to do is let Him lead us. Then all of this worry, fear, condemnation, and guilt that the world tells us we need to carry on our shoulders goes away; He carries our burdens because He loves us! (1 Peter 5:7)

And when He lifts those burdens, and we experience that freedom and that overwhelming flow of love from the Holy Spirit, our faith increases, which in turn makes our lives a living testimony!

“And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
Matthew 17:20

Nothing is impossible because of Jesus! As children of God, we lack NOTHING in this world that we need; He has equipped us with all He is calling us to do!

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1:2-3

Amen!

God sent His only begotten son, Jesus Christ into this world to experience humanity like we do. He experienced every emotion we do, did life like we do- but He did it without sin. The perfect Lamb was sacrificed for US, to take all of our burden and the weight of our sin to the cross with Him. The moment He died for us was our moment of freedom from the torment of sin and the expectation of this sinful world. And when He rose from the dead, He not only proved who He was, He defeated eternal victory over the sins, the burdens, and the brokenness that we have to face.

We don’t have to do it alone, and when we are in the loving arms of Jesus, we fight and live FROM victory, not FOR it- because He already won the war!

Time is short, my friends. COVID-19 is just another reminder of how little time we truly have here, and how important it is to get our eternal life in order.

If you need help in getting closer to Jesus, we are here for you and we will help anyway we can. Part of His plans for our lives and His call on us is to help His children get home to heaven! Don’t hesitate to reach out!

“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11

Much love to you and yours….. ☺️❤️🙏

#risingup #coronavirus #COVID19 #loveMORE #beMORE #doMORE #inHIM