Is COVID-19 the New Normal? : Don’t Freak Out! Trust the Lord!

https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/is-covid-19-the-new-normal-dont-freak-out-trust-the-lord/

Recently, on one of my Facebook friend’s timeline, a discussion arose because a certain newscaster had apparently used the phrase “the new normal” while discussing the current strain of the coronavirus. That is, COVID-19, a sometimes deadly disease which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 strain. My friend wanted to know what the reporter meant by using that phrase. A number of her friends responded to her inquiry. However, in my view, some of them were not helpful, because they immediately discounted the reporter, told people not to listen to him, and accused the reporter of being part of some Leftist conspiracy. In other words, it was a typical tinfoil hat response by a few of her friends.

As I have mentioned before, if there is one thing that irks me, it is when people shoot off their mouths, and voice their opinions, when they obviously don’t know what they are talking about. They can be quite overbearing and abrasive in the way they choose to communicate. At any rate, that is exactly how rumors, disinformation and conspiracy theories propagate, sad to say, and they are often born of ignorance to the facts. To continue, following is a slightly edited version of how I responded to my Facebook friend:

For what it’s worth, and without mentioning specific names, I think a few of your friends here are distorting the facts and bending things out of shape due to their own particular biases.

While I obviously don’t get the same news broadcasts as you do, I can tell you for a fact that your local newscaster is by no means the first person to use the phrase “the new normal”, or use it in that context with that intended meaning. So, in my view, to try to turn it into some kind of Leftist conspiracy is a bit ridiculous.

The fact of the matter is that what that newscaster was expressing by using the phrase “the new normal”, is something which has been of great concern to, as well as has been expected by, scientists and medical and health professionals for literally decades now. In fact, I wrote about it quite extensively back in 1999 in my in-depth 14-part series entitled “Fulfilled Prophecy: The Beginning of Sorrows.” More specifically, from near the end of part 8 through the beginning of part 10, I discuss modern plagues, pestilences, super-strains and drug-resistant superbugs. I will include a link to the series at the end of this same commentary.

As I was just discussing with another friend yesterday, viruses, bacteria and other pathogens are constantly mutating, just like the current COVID-19 is doing. It seems that the more drugs and antibiotics we throw at them in order to defeat them, the more they mutate and adapt in order to resist whatever we throw at them. They are survivors. They become superbugs, or super-strains, which are very difficult to defeat, thus forcing us to create even newer drugs, and thus the vicious cycle continues.

That is basically what we now have in COVID-19. In a word, it is the new kid on the block, and it is very tough, very virulent and very mean. We currently know and understand so little about it. That is precisely why it is called “novel coronavirus”. That is, because it is a new strain which has never been seen before. As a result, it takes health officials some time to understand the new strain, to grasp its behavior, to know its weaknesses, to comprehend how it propagates, etc. That is also why it will require at least 12 to 18 months to develop and properly test, and then market, an effective, safe vaccine against it. Very early tests have already begun.

Now, what compounds this problem even further is the fact that there are a few billion more people in the world today than there were a few decades ago when scientists first began to become concerned about this issue. Not only are there more people in the world, but there are also a lot more people living together in crowded cities, where living and health standards are not always the best. In short, such places are powder kegs, and the perfect environment, just waiting for the next epidemic or pandemic to occur when a new and unknown strain of virus rises on the scene.

This appears to be exactly what happened in the city of Wuhan, which is the capital of Hubei Province in China. After infecting some 80,000 people there, beginning in Wuhan, COVID-19 rapidly spread all around the world in a matter of less than three months, so that there are now many thousands of more cases outside of China, than inside China. Very few places have remained immune to this subtle pathogen which has sneaked into countries unawares.

So indeed, in this crowded world which grows even more crowded with each passing year, where city environments offer the perfect breeding ground for these beasties, and where new strains are constantly mutating, adapting and becoming more drug-resistant, this may indeed be the new normal. COVID-19 most certainly won’t be the last of these invaders. There will be more to come in the future. As such, we should prepare for them, and we should get used to it.

In closing, let me add that while we should and need to discuss these important issues, and while they may possibly frighten and alarm some people, at the same time, as I have mentioned in a number of my other recent coronavirus-related articles and BBB Blog commentaries, as Bible-believing Christians, we should NOT allow ourselves to be overcome by worry and fear. We must continue to trust in the Lord, claim His peace in our lives, pray for His protection, and make certain that we are living lives which are pleasing in His sight.

For those of you who may have possibly missed some of my previous coronavirus-related writings, following is a list of everything I have written to date regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that you will find a lot of useful, factual, instructive and Scriptural information in this material. Please feel free to share this list on your own timelines, pages, in your Facebook groups, and on any other social networks where you happen to participate. Thank you so very much, and God bless you!

Bill’s Bible Basics Coronavirus Information Center:

Bill’s Bible Basics Coronavirus Information Center

Bill’s Bible Basics Articles:

BBB Article: “Coronavirus: Just the Facts, Ma’am”:

https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/coronavirus-1.html

BBB Article: “COVID-19, Financial Assistance and Christian Love”:

https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/covid-19-financial-assistance-christian-love-1.html

BBB Article: “Coronavirus: Defiant Christians, Stay Home!”:

https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/coronavirus-defiant-christians-stay-home-1.html

BBB Article: “COVID-19: Exposure Logging and Contact Tracing: Is It Safe?”:

https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/COVID-19-ExposureLogging-ContactTracing-1.html

Bill’s Bible Basics Blog Posts: