Fifty years from now, our grandchildren are going to talk about this week. They’ll tell their own grandchildren about the time when the world shut down, and how difficult it was to do without March Madness, school and toilet paper.

Older adults will remember how an invisible enemy brought the world’s economy to a crashing halt. Maybe we’ll remember how it humbled world leaders, brought a temporary end to war and left us hiding from our neighbors in fear a single sneeze could leave us gasping for air two weeks later.

The history books will surely speak of medicines and vaccines that brought an end to the crisis. Perhaps there will even be a sentence that begins, “In the course of time …”

The life of David had one of those chapters, and it carries a profound thought with it.

In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines. (2 Samuel 8:1)

The rest of 2 Samuel 8 has other details from tough work done in “the course of time.”

The Moabites were defeated. Hadadezer and his army (1,000 chariots, 20,000 soldiers) were defeated. The Arameans fell to David. A political alliance was made with the king of Hamath. The Edomites came in battle, losing 18,000 men to David’s army. In all of it, David’s army lost a lot of men, too.

It took a lot of death and destruction, but David’s kingdom was established … in the course of time.

Funny how a few words can sum up a lifetime of work. Read an obituary lately? Decades of study, work and raising a family are boiled down to a handful of well-crafted sentences. Grave markers are even more concise. First name, last name, date of birth, date of death.

More than likely, news relating to the coronavirus crisis has probably dominated your thinking in the last few days. By now, you’re surely tired of staying home. You’ve missed the social interaction you’ve cultivated for a lifetime. No doubt, you’re wondering how long this will last!

Rest assured, it will pass. One day soon, we’ll refer to this season as “the year of the coronavirus pandemic” and move on to more important topics … like Opening Day for Major League baseball teams.

But right now, we’re in it.

Millions are stuck at home.

Millions more are stuck at work, scared to death that someone near them is a silent carrier of the COVID-19 germ.

People working today are not experiencing a normal Monday! Therefore, let us pray for those who are sacrificing on behalf of others during this ordeal.

Doctors, nurses and entire medical teams are breathing dangerous air as they work.

Warehouse workers, truckers and delivery personnel are working overtime trying to keep Americans supplied with milk, eggs and facemasks.

Grocery stores are open. Gas stations, banks and drug stores haven’t shut their doors or told their employees to stay home.

Our military is still holding down the fort. Financial leaders are working the disaster from home offices. Many school teachers are teaching on-line. Millions of parents are giving home-school education a try.

God help them all. God, please protect them all!

Yes, in time, this chapter of history will be summed up in a few sentences that may not even draw the attention of sleepy middle schoolers. But for those who do pay attention to the history lesson 50 years from today?

May they read of our courage.

May they read of our faithfulness.

And God willing, may they read of the day when we finally won this battle and returned to normal life!

It’ll all happen … in the course of time.