This 7-day devotional series will reveal how to spend this time in quarantine reflecting and examining your life through God‘s eyes, so that you can redeem your thoughts towards your past, be present with Him and boldly enter the post-COVID world in the center of His perfect will in this season of our lives and the next.
DEVOTIONAL ONE:
The 'Rona shut down of 2020 has me questioning everything. What day is it and does it even matter? Will I ever need to go back to the office? Am I using enough toilet paper, because everyone else seems to be in need of a lot of it? What are virtual happy hours, and why do they exist? Is it sad the highlight of the week is going to the grocery store and best reason to have to put on pants?
With the extra amount of time in quarantine, I’ve been more acquainted with my own thoughts about my life. When I pause long enough to think deeply, I do feel the Lord has impressed on my heart not to squander this time and to intentionally press into the moment, leaning on Him to co-labor in discerning this time and what He has to say.
This devotional, my first, and the entire blog itself was germinated on a fast during the stay at home orders. I noticed my thoughts about my life and where it was headed, or not headed, really disturbed me with the increasing level of hopelessness. Instead of lingering in a fog of disillusionment, I turned to the Word to see how to navigate this unprecedented time. One word continuously went through my mind: reflection, specifically, godly reflection.
I believe we are in a season of godly reflection.
Since California and most of the country has been on lockdown and many activities of life (distractions) are gone, it can be tempting to spend a lot of time with Netflix binges and social media. Social distancing is flaring up anxieties and loneliness and the economic uncertainty has stroked fears and worries. COVID has shattered the pillars and foundations of our lives in numerous ways that if overlooked, we could miss the idols, skeletons, hurts, relationships and things we called normal that God wants to expose and remove to make more room for His “new normal” that he wants to establish in our lives. But what if we spent this time reflecting and sifting through the millions of thoughts racing through our minds and saw things from God’s perspective?
Nothing is new under the sun; there is a time for everything.
Though this generation has never experienced a pandemic or season quite like the coronavirus, the Bible does talk about times of famine and pestilence, dealing with difficult times and how knowing your season can help determine the direction God wants you to take, especially in seemingly uncertain times.
But what can we learn from scripture and more importantly, how does it relate to us and our situation specifically? What season are you in and how can you tell? Though we are all in different stages of life and situations, I believe we need to spend time in reflection, re-evaluating the foundations of our lives that have been shaken by COVID.
Christians often talk of what season they are in…
a season of wilderness...
...a season of singleness...
...a season of breakthrough...
and a perpetual yearning for the next one. The topic might elicit eye rolls due to its cliché nature and generic overuse my megachurch pastors. (I’ll be nice this time and not name names).
The Bible does talk of seedtime and harvest and knowing the signs of the end times. Even the sun, moon and stars were placed to tell us the times and seasons. So determining the seasons is definitely a vital task given to believers.
But like everything in life, there is a biblical way and worldly way to do something. And that applies to discerning your season. Many are listening to the politicians, the news and the conspiracy theories for the signs of the times. What if we can stop and spend time with God in purposeful reflection of what He says and wants to do in this season.
Side note: God did not send COVID. Jesus came to give life and life more abundantly. Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy, and sin is wages of death. We live in a fallen world. I want to warn against the temptation to blame God for something so destructive when there is devil, sin and evil in this world. But God works all things out for His good for those who love Him.
I pray this devotional will help and encourage you to spend this time in fruitful reflection with God in these uncertain times.
Scriptures to Read:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time [a]to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.
Genesis 1:14-15
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
Genesis 8:22
“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”
Matthew 24:3-8
As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
John 10:10
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
2 Chronicles 20:8-9
And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,[c] or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’
Application
Make a list of worries that you have. Pray a prayer releasing them to God until you feel peace. Tear up the list and throw away. Repeat, if necessary, in the days to come.
Prayer
Lord, I trust you and put my life in your hands. You are my Rock. You are the only foundation I want to build my life on because the kingdom of God is never shaken. I lay down my worries and fears and give them to you. I break and renounce the spirit of fear and anxiety. I pray that during this devotional, that you open my eyes to see the truth of my situation. Give me your eyes to see and your understanding. Give me guidance and revelation of my season. Fill my heart with hope and faith. I trust in you Jesus always. Amen.
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