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If you think things are going to go back to the way they used to be then you may be in for a rude awakening. In just a month’s time, everything has changed. While in the midst of this global pandemic, something has shifted. Something has changed our momentum.
Do you long for the days when you could sit in traffic and yell at the people in front of you for cutting you off? Do you miss the times where you were late to work because your kids were being punks and wouldn’t go put their shoes on? How about actually getting dressed to go out into society, do you remember and miss what that was like? Please don’t say yes to that because everyone knows that sweatpants are the best.
Maybe there’s some good in all of this. Maybe there’s a chance for us to see the world a little differently now. If anything, it has slowed us down and I believe that’s a good thing.
Here are three things we must accept if we’re going to move forward in this wild new world.
CHANGE HAS HAPPENED
Oh the dreaded word: “change.” No one likes it; even if you say you like it you’re probably lying. We first have to accept the change that has taken place around us and also be willing to embrace it. Look at it this way — you’re probably a lot more technologically savvy. Even before this quarantine sidelined us, we ordered our groceries online and picked them up without leaving our car. Things changed even before this pandemic, but now things have changed a lot faster. We share in Bible studies over zoom or skype. We leave things on peoples’ doorsteps rather than entering their homes. Heck, the pizza delivery guy doesn’t even hand you your pizza anymore.
Here’s what we need to understand about change: it’s been here for all time and it’s going to be here even after we’re gone. Read a history book and you’ll see how change has and will happen. It’s our job now to find the positive, as well as the opportunities, in it.
HOPE LOOKS FORWARD
While the past shows us why we should have hope for the future, hope is actually sustained by our anticipation for what’s to come.
As a follower of Jesus, I’m called to set my mind on eternal things and not on earthly things.
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of Heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of Heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your[a] life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory. - Colossians 3:1-3
Where’s your hope right now? Is it set on when things go back to normal or the way they used to be? Honestly, some things will go back, but others won’t. When our hope is in the routine and busyness we lived before this pandemic, then we're going to be majorly disappointed. Do you know why? Because things change.
Remember hope looks forward. Look forward to one day when things won’t need to change. Look forward to the chance to love on people again. Look forward to being with the body of believers declaring the HOPE we have of eternal life.
CHANGE = OPPORTUNITY
I can be a pretty strong pessimist at times and let me tell you what that does to me. It makes me focus on complaining and not seeing the opportunities.
Remember that passage in Genesis where Joseph is talking to his brothers about how they sent him off to be enslaved? This is what He said: “20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” - Genesis 50:20.
Joseph saw the opportunity that was in front of him in each change that took place in his life. He went from being a slave to being the second in command only behind Pharaoh in Egypt. He saw the changes as opportunities and we have to do the same.
In this new world we're living in, we need to see where the problems exist and seek to be problem solvers for those things. You may have a neighbor who lives right beside you who’s elderly and afraid to get out. Maybe this is the opportunity for you to love on them and go pick up their groceries. Maybe someone you know just lost their job and doesn’t have the financial means to pay their utility bill this month. Could you help them with that? What about those who are on the front lines of this pandemic and can’t see or love their family? Could you take their family a meal and leave it on their doorstep?
These are just general ideas on how we can look at the change we’re living in as an opportunity.
“Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” - Warren Buffett
Stop trying to go back to your life because it was comfortable. Embrace the new day, embrace the change and look for the opportunities. Change will always be here, we won’t.