Hard to believe is was four years ago when the dreaded COVID-19 virus scare virtually shut down America.

You recall those days, right? Limited groups were allowed in stores. Schools were doing remote learning. Restaurants had restricted space or even outdoor-only seating. Family events were cancelled, including big weddings and farewell funeral gatherings.

We were getting daily reports on the latest updates from the White House on what steps were being taken to keep us safe. And the chief spokesperson on all this was some dude named Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The virus was first discovered in 2019 in some distant lab in Wuhan, China. It spread rapidly just about everywhere. And then, in March of 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Scary word, “pandemic.”

As defined, it’s “a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease over a whole country or the world at a particular time.”

Yet just several weeks after that March announcement, we were told the tide was turning. COVID-19 numbers were actually beginning to drop. It was assumed it was because we were all shut ins!

Of course, millions of Americans had taken to the last resort of the desperate soul—prayer! That’s right! They invoked the name of God in coming to our rescue. Then New York Governor Andrew Cuomo claimed that was nonsense. His words:

“God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that…And if you don’t continue to do that (protecting yourself), you’re going to see that number go back up. And that will be a tragedy.”

Who can question such a logic? Actually, anyone who has witnessed the miraculous working of God in a thousand ways can easily dispute such a sad display of faith. He was right in part, of course, because the coronavirus played hellish havoc on otherwise healthy people. And it continues to do so.

But did we really need to mask up?

Then came the vaccines. And the vaccine disputes. To take or not to take—that was the question. And still is. My primary care doctor and my cardiologist were big on having seasoned citizens get immunized. So I did. Now, after reading more and more reports, we’ve not taken any more of the vaccine updates.

Truth is a very hard thing to discern in this issue. Church folk became divided on all this. Still are. Neither of my docs pushed hard on me to get the vaccine updates that would follow. Why? Maybe they read what I’ve read. Or watched four years of us dealing with annual virus mutations and managing to survive. Without six feet of separation.

Look up on WebMD what actually caused the spread of the virus and you read, “There are two hypotheses as to COVID-19’s origins: exposure to an infected animal or a laboratory leak. There is not enough evidence to support either argument.”

Note that last line…no evidence. Later in the article it states, “Scientists aren’t sure whether it jumped from animals to humans or was developed in a lab.”

Don’t tell that to Senator Rand Paul! In December of last year, Senator Paul shared a short briefing on the SARS virus in Imprimis —the periodical published by Hillsdale College. The brief was taken from Paul’s book, Lessons from the Great Covid Cover-Up. The Kentucky Senator has credentials, having attended Baylor University and graduating from the Duke University School of Medicine.

I encourage you to read this article or, better yet, the book by Senator Paul. (linked above) The bottom line is simply that key government leaders have known all along about the source of the virus. And yet they have refused to tell the truth to the American people.

The most stinging rebuke made by Senator Paul involves lying and deception. And Dr. Fauci is ground zero on this. Read it for yourself.

Has something good come out of this supposed crisis? As David Smith pointed out in his recent IFI newsletter, it has. As he states,

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, homeschool enrollment in Illinois and throughout the United States increased dramatically.”

It has increased some 50 percent across the nation since the 2017-2018 school year according to the Washington Post. Christian schools have seen increases as well. Good news for families worried about the trends in our public education system.

Americans have also become somewhat wiser in seeing that what our government pushes to keep us “healthy” may not be in our best interest.

As the writer of Proverbs wisely teaches, “If you do the right thing, honesty will be your guide. But if you are crooked, you will be trapped by your own dishonesty.” Proverbs 11:13 (CEV)

Jesus did not entrust Himself to men. We should be equally cautious.

Wise as serpents. Harmless as doves.