Covid is hitting close to home a lot now. This might sound bad but I am getting exhausted from concern and worry.
Absolutely! Covid19 Fatigue is a real issue. We have been in lockdown for 10 weeks, and it dominates consciousness, news , and so much of life. When I did some comparative numbers recently I realised how much more terrifying the Spanish Flu Epidemic was, save for the lack of media and social media coverage of it. We also have vaccines. Stay safe, and trust in God.
My wife and I are vaccinated but I am in the least vaccinated state in the US. The level of crazy here is hard to believe. People have described our hospitals as war zones
I don't want to be the voice of gloom but unfortunately you're going to be more disheartened waiting for an end of COVID-19. The pandemic is far from being over and when the WHO declares it over we'll still have to live with it, much like we live with flu. I suspect (who can really know at this stage) that those at higher risk may need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 annually much like those at higher risk of flu are. Certainly prayers can do no harm and we certainly need them right now.
I am just fatigued by all the people dying and getting seriously ill around me while doing nothing to take care of themselves. Literally all the people I nkow facing severe illness from it are unvaccinated.
That's your lived experience and there's no denying what you're experiencing. But then, Israel has the most-vaccinated population of any country, and they're seeing high numbers of fully vaccinated people catching the illness, many of whom land in the hospital. My wife and I simply do not worry or get anxious about the virus. The Bible says, God has not given us a spirit of fear. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will not fear. Who, by worrying, can add a day to his lifespan? Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. The Lord blesses us and keeps us. Surely He will deliver us from the noisome pestilence. The peace of God which passes all understanding guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. We are quite weary of hearing the steady drumbeat of fear-mongering on the news broadcasts, though. So we limit our exposure to them. GI-GO. Better to read God's promises and rest in Him, is how we feel.
The vaccinations in the respective countries are not that different. Israel went early in the vaccination race. As I understand it at the moment in Australia about 90% of those in ICU are unvaccinated, and 9% have had the first vaccination dose, leaving only 1% double vaccinated, and in the main as I understand it that have underlying health conditions as well.
I'm not interested in trading statistics, or in seeing statistics. I don't trust those who produce the statistics for public consumption. Statistics can be massaged to produce untruths. I could link to other statistics and to news stories, but I see no point; everyone will believe what they choose to believe. As for me, I fear not that which can kill the body but cannot kill the soul (Matt. 10:28). If I died right this instant, I have confidence in my Redeemer.
Well, you trusted statistics enough to cite the example of Israel in the first place. It seems a bit arbitrary for it to be ok when you cite statistics but not when others do so. Do you have any evidence to back up your claim that published statistics are untrustworthy, or is that just your intuition? You might be content to die tomorrow but that’s cold comfort for the +600K whose lives were cut short in this country alone. The virus kills people whether we ignore it or not and when it comes to pandemics, it’s not a sound strategy to believe you can surrender your way to victory. That’s tantamount to curing the disease by killing the patient.
Nor I. And yes it is OK to not trust statistics without being prepared to hang the eternal question mark. Fear of death and disease is not the mark of a Christian, yet we are not called to ignore the God given intellect we have. On the basis of the information that I have been presented with I made the decision to be vaccinated, and I encourage others to do the same. It is not a lack of faith that drives such a decision. It is simply the proper exercise of God given reason. It is also a desire that I do not unconsciously contribute to spreading the virus and bring suffering to others. and I concur As for me, I fear not that which can kill the body but cannot kill the soul (Matt. 10:28).
Dude, chill out. I wasn’t “attacking”; I was responding. When you post things in an online forum, people get to respond. That’s how it works. I really don’t care if you’re interested or not. Other people are interested, and I respond for their benefit, not yours. You invite the kind of responses you get by the kind of statements you frequently make. Get over it.
You're missing the big picture. People have expressed great fear; some people in this world nowadays are experiencing near-debilitating fear of the virus. But the main thing we ought to focus on is our mighty God. He is able to deliver us from danger, and He loves us. Every one of us is virtually guaranteed to reach an expiration date when our body quits working, but "to live is Christ and to die is gain." All I was doing with my example (not all examples are statistics, as any wise guy would know) is showing that there are multiple competing fact sets, we can't know for certain which fact set is accurate, so why agonize over any of them! Let's reassure folks, help them to avoid living in unproductive fear, and point them back toward confidence in our Lord. Not get into a spitting match over stats and numbers and the whole shebang. And yes, when someone implies that I have a double standard, I see that as an attack on my integrity. If you don't like how I see it, YOU get over it.
Ok, pointing out an inconsistency in an argument - which was an accurate assessment in this case, I might add - is not tantamount to “attacking someone’s integrity”. I don’t know where you got that from, but it wasn’t from what I actually said. I have nothing to “get over”. I went out of my way to be charitable while still pointing out the facts, uncomfortable though they may be. You took it from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye. Why that’s the case is a mystery known only to yourself. We’re over 18 months into this thing. The time for sanctimonious platitudes is over. The appropriate, adult response is to put the common good first, get the vaccine, wear a mask, and encourage others to do the same.
I sadly see no end in sight of mutations of the viruses. I also look back, in retrospect, and wonder how few even questioned the presence of people like Dr. Fauci, Obama and Bill Gates at the Wuhan Lab in China? Did red-flags not go up? Gates is a proponent of depopulation and I wonder just how many mutations and subsequent vaccines are part of that nightmare? I am not a conspiracy-theorist, but these all make me wonder what has occurred in our world and how far will it go?
It pains me to put someone on 'ignore,' but it seemed necessary. Oh well. In these hours, let us keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He is our great high priest, our Redeemer, our Provider, and our Healer. Luke 6:17-19 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. Heb 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Act 28:3-5 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Our God is the "greater one"! 1Jn 4:4-6 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. The Holy Spirit is our helper and guide. He helps us discern between truth and error. Those who hear Him know the truth concerning this viral attack.
Says the guy promoting conspiracy theories in the immediately preceding sentence… Good grief. Thank God for the Ignore button, indeed.