Tag: coronavirus

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on What’s to Come

When I thought about what to write this week, Jeremiah 29:11 came to mind. Yes, that would be a good reminder, I thought. God has good plans for us. We can look forward to the future, even though we don’t understand what’s happening right now.

I decided to look at that verse in The Message version: “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”

The end of that verse threw me when I read it. God’s going to give me the future I hope for? So if I just hope that the world is going to go back to normal and that none of my friends and family die from the coronavirus, He’ll give me that? If I just hope for a future with good health and material blessings, I’ll get that?

I realized I needed to look at the verses around Jeremiah 29:11 to make sense of that phrase.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.'” (Jeremiah 29:10-12 NIV)

Oh! So Israel was in captivity in Babylon. The future they hoped for was to come back to Jerusalem. That was God’s plan for them, too, so He was going to make it happen.

It might look like verse 12 says they’ll call on God and pray to Him after they get back to Jerusalem, but verses 13 & 14 make that more clear: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

The calling on God and praying to Him and seeking Him all would happen while they were still in captivity. They were living as slaves in a foreign land, but Jeremiah gives them the promise that eventually (after 70 years!) they’ll be able to go back to life as normal in Jerusalem. They’re encouraged to settle into Babylon and actually enjoy life there. Verses 5-7 urge them to build houses, plant gardens, eat, marry, have children, and seek the peace and prosperity of Babylon.

The note in my Bible for Jeremiah 29:4-7 includes these interesting thoughts: “Life cannot grind to a halt during troubled times. In an unpleasant or distressing situation, we must adjust and keep moving.” (NIV Life Application Study Bible, Zondervan, 2011)

We are certainly in troubled times right now. We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, but we can have hope. God knows what He’s doing. He’s got it all planned out. He will take care of us and He won’t abandon us.

We have to adjust and keep moving as we call on Him, pray to Him, and seek Him each and every day. We can even look forward to what’s to come, because we know it’s in His plan.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

Does your future seem hopeless right now? How can focusing on God help you to pray continuously and move ahead in faith instead of fear?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Our New Normal

Well, it’s been quite a week, hasn’t it?

I think we’re all trying to get used to our new normal.

I’ve heard several friends say it feels like such a long time that we’ve been dealing with this. We have been watching the situation unfold around the world for quite a while, but it has actually only been about a week that it really started to affect us.

Sporting events, conferences, and vacations started getting cancelled. Schools have been closed and online classes are beginning.

Grocery store shelves are sometimes bare as people stock up for the unknown.

We’re washing our hands and dumping on hand sanitizer and trying to stay six feet away from everyone we see when we do venture out of the house.

I’ve been handling it as well as I can, just like everyone else. I have noticed that I’m stress eating way too much (like that helps at all) and I’ve had more trouble concentrating when I’m trying to write or edit.

I’ll get involved in something for a while and kind of forget about what’s happening, and then the realization floods back over me that life is not the same as it was.

There’s a danger out there. We don’t know how bad it’s going to get before it’s over – or even when it will be over. I teared up tonight while watching the news and seeing the emergency room filled with people wearing ventilators over in Italy.

We won’t gather for church this Sunday. Instead, Gary will record a message and we’ll post it on our church website for people to watch. Who knows when we’ll be able to meet together again?

It’s our new normal.

We don’t like it. We don’t understand it. We don’t want to get used to it.

But we will.

We’ll find ways to connect, even if it can’t be in person. We’ll find ways to reach out, even if we need to leave six feet between us. We’ll find ways to help each other, even if we’re not quite sure how to help ourselves.

Hang on to hope, my friends, even when everything seems hopeless. God is in control. Because of that, we can keep choosing peace, even in the midst of chaos.

May that become our new normal, even after this virus is long gone.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV)

Are you getting used to our new normal? How can focusing on God help you to keep choosing peace in the middle of the chaos and uncertainty?

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Super Saturday: Let’s Focus on Something Other Than the Coronavirus

Wow. I haven’t had a Super Saturday post in a long time. I blame the coronavirus.

Oh, don’t worry. I don’t have it, but I have been dealing with the stress of bouncing from thinking “it’s not a big deal” to the extreme of “we’re all going to die.” I’ve been listening to the news and reading most of the posts people are putting on their Facebook feeds.

On Friday we found out that our son’s college is sending everyone home by Wednesday and they’ll complete the school year with online classes. (Just when we were getting used to the empty nest!)

I’m not going to recap the situation or speculate about all that is happening around the world in regards to this pandemic. I’m sure most of you have heard more than enough about all of this.

Instead, I want us to take some time to focus on something other than the coronavirus.

When fear wants to control our thoughts and actions, let’s focus instead on the fact that God has everything under control and we can move ahead with confidence–no matter what happens.

When Satan whispers that everything is meaningless, let’s focus instead on all that is still right and beautiful and good in this big, wide world.

When anxiety tries to hold us hostage and keep us from getting things done, let’s focus instead on the peace we can choose (over and over again) and the confidence we can gain as we do things in spite of feeling anxious.

When we’re tempted to sit all alone and worry, let’s focus instead on who we can reach out to and encourage. We can do that through a phone call, a handwritten card or letter (remember those?), or even a timely Facebook post.

When it feels like everything is falling apart, let’s focus instead on how God keeps everything together. We may not understand it all right now, but we can trust Him and move forward in faith.

There’s so much more to focus on than . . . wait – what was that thing we were so worried about?

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together [except during the coronavirus pandemic], as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV – brackets mine)

Are you dealing with extra stress during these uncertain times? How can focusing on God help you to keep living well each day – in spite of the questions you may have?