Wow, 9 months into the pandemic! Who would have thought it would last this long?
Maybe you have made so much Banana Bread (like me), cooked a lot of new recipes, gained a few extra pounds, finished your favorite Netflix series (Big Bang Theory) or your favorite video game. Or maybe you have gotten sick yourself or know a loved one who got sick or passed away from COVID-19. Perhaps, this pandemic has been so hard for you mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Wherever you are in your experience, know that we all have our own unique experiences during this time. Friend, we want you to know that you are not alone. We mourn with you; we celebrate with you. It’s during these times that we are stronger (virtually, for now) together.
With this crisis comes different spiritual challenges. Some of you may have had a hard time connecting with God in a deeper way. Especially with “church” not being the way we are used to: some going online, outdoors or even postponing gathering for a while, it definitely takes a toll on our spiritual well-being and connection with the body of Christ. We feel you and we hope things go back to “normal”. However, let us not lose hope. This is a season that we don’t have to just survive but we can thrive even more to go deeper in our relationship God! Let’s use it for our benefit to use this time to invest in our relationship with God and connect with Him despite a worldwide pandemic.
- Invest In your Daily Devotion
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8
With so much time being at home, comes so much more opportunities to open our Bibles (or phones for the Bible app) and read it. Be creative and fun! You can spend 30 minutes in the morning (or night if you’re a night person), read one chapter a day, start a journal or even listen to an audio version of the Bible. There is no more excuse that “we don’t have enough time”. 9 months have gone by, it is plenty of time to establish a spiritual habit of daily intimacy with God. This will help you set your perspective everyday that God is sovereign and He is still in control even if things in our world does not seem like it.
- Develop a Healthy Prayer Life
Are you like me and you struggle to shut your mind off and pray? It’s a struggle especially if you have 1000 thoughts running through your mind in a day. But this is a spiritual discipline to talk to God daily. We have all heard it before, “Prayer is powerful”! But really, it is. It changes things and it changes our hearts! Here is a quote I love so much:
“Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” – Max Lucado
- Find a Virtual Accountability Partner
How I miss the days where we can go out freely for a coffee date or a lunch date with a friend! We truly took those days for granted. But these times challenge us even more to be creative! Maybe you can connect with a brother or sister from church for coffee via Zoom? Perhaps you can do a virtual prayer night with another family from church? Technology can be a blessing, if we make it to be! We can still connect virtually with our brothers and sisters in Christ while being at home. You are not alone and I am sure others can use this encouragement as well!
- Rest and Be Still
We have all heard it before “I am just so busy; I don’t have time to rest.” I sure have said it before! But with so much time at home due to quarantine and lockdowns, you can get into a habit of resting. Resting is also a spiritual discipline and Jesus even showed us a great example that even He rested! We all need rest (we’re not robots). We need it to recuperate and to have a clear mind.
Friend, wherever you are in this pandemic: if you’re struggling or if you are on the mountain top of your life, don’t forget God. Seek Him deeper. He loves you so much and He wants to use your circumstances to mold you to be more like Christ. We hope that you would use these weird times to connect with God!
