What do you do when the world stops turning?

I worry that anything I might say about the Coronavirus and how we can manage our lives moving forward will sound like wishful thinking or some aging Pollyanna who wants to pretend that all is sweetness and light. Nevertheless, here is what is on my heart…

With the onset of the Coronavirus, reactions to the mandated social distancing is mixed. For some people, it is a welcome respite from their normal routine, such as work and school, at least for the first few days until boredom sets in. For medical professionals, their work is intensified. For others, it increases the loneliness they already feel. Some people speak of this pandemic as the “end of the world”; others say we are being given a reality check to prepare us for “the next big thing.”

Assuming you are healthy, what do you do “when the world stops turning”? Beyond the obvious chores of cleaning the garage, getting caught up on email correspondence, and watching Netflix movies, making a “thanksgiving list,” focusing on what we can still do, instead of what we can’t do, is a good place to start. Then what? 

My prayer is that we use this “pause” wisely. It seems to me it could be a fertile time to use our imaginations for the glory of God. No doubt, we will not return to “normal” as we have known it. Already we live in a different world. What will our “different” world look like in a month or a year from now? Will we be victims of circumstance or will we use this time to prepare for “the new,” even if we aren’t sure what “the new” is?  Now, more than ever, is a time to pray and listen for what is on God’s heart.

I pray that you are blessed in surprising ways in the days, weeks, and months ahead as you seek Him! May the eyes of your understanding “see” the “new” that God is doing and may you have the courage to go where He is leading.

So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints (Ephesians 1:18).

Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them (Isaiah 42:9).