What in the world is going on?
I find myself asking this question repeatedly over the past few days. As I was trying to figure it out, the Lord asked my heart a different question, what can I do while this is going on? Here’s five practical tips to help answer a better question.
1 – Embrace The Change
Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us, For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. We’re certainly in a new season right now. One that has been unmatched in the history of my grandparents lifetime. Fighting against it is only going to cause tension in your life. Instead, embrace it. The kids are home. The stores don’t have toilet paper. I’m working from home. The quicker we embrace this temporary change the quicker we’ll be prepared to deal, and eventually, overcome it.
2 – Find Something to be Grateful For
Nothing, and I mean nothing, will make a “quarantine” more miserable than a complaining, negative attitude. See 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Do you have food? Clothes? A house to isolate in? Extra time with your family? Breath. Life. Hope. A future in eternity? Then quit complaining, fix the negative attitude, and find something during this crazy time to be thankful for.
3 – Take Advantage of The Time
Chances are you’ve been “blessed” with a few weeks at home with less than the normal workload to attend to. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT. Let these extended times be some of the richest devotions you’ve experienced. Felt distant from God? GO INNNN. Pray more. Play worship music continuously. Double-up: Morning and evening devotions. Spend some extra time with the kids and spouse. Play a game every evening. Enjoy dinners around the table. Remember all the times you said, “I’m so busy.” Make up for them now.
4 – Stay Healthy
The temptation for me when I’m isolated at home is to eat my feelings – one Oreo at a time. Resist (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Eating junk, while being isolated, only adds to the emotional blah. Don’t let cheat meals and desserts freely flow like the salmon of Capistrano (Name that movie?). Plan them. Friday night I’ll eat dessert, and Sunday night is cheat meal. Outside of those, fight the temptation and stay lean and green!
5 – Keep The Faith
God is moving in all of this. He’s not surprised by this, nor is He overwhelmed, or outmatched. HE WILL BE VICTORIOUS. Stay there with your thoughts, your words, and your prayers. 1 Chronicles 29:11 declares, Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Let that verse be the battlecry of your heart! It’s His… and He’s exalted above all!