My Rapidly Changing World

Coronavirus! Daily we are experiencing changes in routines and schedules. A short trip to the store has now become an epic challenge often with discouraging results. People are avoiding other people. Anyone who would cough is now looked upon with great disdain, no matter the reason for the cough. Our lives are being impacted in ways we have never seen. We are forced to change our plans, prepare for isolation, washing our hands longer and more than ever before, and wait for the impending possibilities of doom to our lives. Minutes, even seconds bring new challenges and changes, rather than the days, months, and years. Our lives are being pushed and pulled to conform to the latest news and policies. By the time I finish writing this article, situations will have changed. What is our reaction to all of this?

Some will deny the existence of a crisis. Some will say we are being over-protective. Others will carry the situations to the extreme doom and gloom possible. All sorts of conspiracies are being bantered and propagated as fact and are seeking a following. No matter our feelings, our lives are being impacted.

I do not know what is ahead. I cannot say how much our lives will be impacted. I am not sure how this will turn out in the future. I dare say that we may never see “normal” again. I don’t know.

I do know who holds our future in His hands. I can only rest in the Lord, His promises, grace, comfort, and peace. No matter what happens and how life changes, nothing will separate me from His love. I know we live in a sinful world and sin has been judged by a righteous God otherwise He is not righteous. But in the bad, God has brought us good. We can be saved from the judgment by trusting Christ as our Savior because He has paid the penalty for all who will come to Him. God has brought good for us out of bad. I trust Him in the situations of life we now live that He will do the same thing. He will bring good out of this bad. People will turn to the Lord who would never have considered Him before the crisis. The amount of prayer will increase. God will bring good out of bad.

With so much unknown, I just rest in my God and experience His peace in the midst of the turmoil. I realize the limits of my ability to control life. I have to accept that and rest in God’s promises. It doesn’t mean that I don’t prepare for what may come. It doesn’t mean I am careless with my life. It does mean that no matter how much I seek to insulate myself from all the possibilities of problems, I have to rest in my all-knowing, all powerful, loving, and caring God. No matter how much we try, we can never totally control all the events and happenings of our lives. We must rest in the Lord.

We will not find rest in the circumstances of our lives, in the possibilities of doom and gloom. We will find it in the Lord. If you do not know Him in an intimate, personal relationship, you can. As for me, I will use a balanced approach to my future, preparing for life in the coming days as far as I am able, but I will trust my future to the one who holds my life in His hands. I am going to be with Him forever, experiencing His good with the bad of this world left behind.