What happens when we go back to normal? Does that mean we forget who God is until we need Him again? Have we learned nothing except how to survive and how much we missed our normal lives?
What is "normal," anyway? I fear normal often excludes God from our lives. When the wheels start turning again, as restrictions are being lifted and places open back up to the public, we will get back into our daily routines. We will go back to being busy and finding little time to spend with Jesus. To truly establish a relationship with Him. I write this because I am guilty of doing the same thing. Our daily "norms" often cause us to push our relationship with Jesus to the back burner. It isn't our priority. It doesn't take precedence over other tasks. But it should. We spend so much time worrying about what is going to come next that we forget what happens right now. What we can be doing right now.
Whether life seems normal or not, our purpose as Christians does not change because God does not change. We can't change the circumstances, but we can change our perspective. We can simply go back to "normal" or we can learn something from our time in quarantine. We can grow through this season instead of allowing ourselves to just pick back up where we left off. That won't do us any good, really. Going back to being busy, delegating our time to people, places, and things that aren't as significant. Is that what we really want? Instead of worrying about the next steps (opening the country back up) and what this means for all of us, I want to remember to embrace the reality of the present.
Matt. 6:34 (ESV)-Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
I know God has been trying His best to teach me some things during quarantine. I hope and pray you take these lessons to heart as well:
1. Slow down and take time for what matters most.
2. Be still and surrender.
3. God is in control.
4. I can trust God even in the unknown.
5. God is good...all the time.
Please, don't worry yourself into tomorrow. Tomorrow will have enough of its own problems. Just focus on today. Don't think about what you will be returning to as the chaos of COVID-19 subsides. Don't think about going back to what you considered normal. What parts of normal do we really want to go back to, after all? Jesus should always be a part of our normal. Let's not get in a rush to go back to normal. What we once considered normal has already been shaken. I think it would be perfectly acceptable to reevaluate our definition of normalcy. Besides, we were never called to normal.
1 Peter 2:9-But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
If you've been struggling to find what normal looks like, let this be your new normal. Let Jesus Christ make you new from the inside out. Let Him call you out of darkness into light. It will be the best decision you've ever made. Perhaps it's finally time to rethink your normal.