“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Listen carefully; I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness, and streams in the wasteland.” ~ Isaiah 43:18-19
Okay, so this is weird.
It feels a bit like we’ve tumbled into the Twilight Zone. The whole globe has slowed, and stopped, and shifted.
I write a lot about pausing, slowing down, and being in the moment. But sheesh. This is epic, isn’t it? The greatest pause ever.
So, here we are. In this mind warp.
If only I could make soup and casseroles for everyone. I wanna send cards and clean your yards and deliver groceries. But, I can’t reach all of you. So I wait for words in this brand-new experience.
How about wonky and discombobulated?
Unsettling. And raw and awful and awkward.
And there’s all these new and strange questions:
How do I shop? How do I make a face mask? Where do I get toilet paper? How do I safely connect with family and friends? How does an introvert find quiet when it’s suddenly so darn people-y in the house?
For some of us, it’s a bit too quiet.
Author C.S. Lewis lived through epidemics and the 1918 pandemic. Throughout his life, he wrestled with discombobulating situations. He wrote a lot about doubt and faith, joy and grief. Here’s one of my favorite quotes:
“Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.”
Yep, for sure. This “flattening the curve” is a learning curve.
It’s our messy, unpleasant opportunity. To grow. To trust. To flip this stuff.
Ugh. Come on. Can’t we just eat Cheetos?
I wish. Stuffing and avoiding stress will just eat us from the inside out.
Remember Job? He has a whole section of the Bible to himself. It’s his raw and bleeding story of wrestling with extreme loss and gut-wrenching questions. He lost everything: family, friends, wealth, and health.
Then he lost hope and asked God to let him die.
“But even in the most calamitous circumstances, Job had a very thin thread of joy.” 1
He found comfort and reassurance because he still believed the words of God. Though he despaired, even to the point of death, his faith was tenacious. Stubborn and persistent. And we can know this rare and extreme joy.
“It’s a joy that doesn’t deny reality, but it does defy it.” 2 It wrestles and wins in the face of staggering loss.
This joy literally means, “to leap like a horse so stones spark. It’s not just jumping for joy; it’s dancing on disappointment.” 3
Now that moves me.
“Somehow, Job took a small measure of pleasure despite the pain. Would he have changed the circumstances if he could? In a heartbeat. But he found joy in one simple fact”: 4
He didn’t forget or deny his Creator’s presence or promises. Though it may have felt like it, God had not deserted him.
After Jesus died, his followers were discombobulated too. Fear, grief, despair, and confusion rocked their world. Some hid; some went back to their old way of life. But then, Hope rose.
And Jesus changed everything.
Death becomes Life. Dark becomes Light. Fear surrenders to courage. Despair holds on to hope.
And grief makes room for joy.
Jesus’ darkest days were the birth pains of a whole new era. His Story split history. And it’s about to happen again, my friend. This power to create new beginnings changes our story too.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. But I have come so you may have a full, abundant life.” ~ John 10:10
What if ~ in this epic interruption ~ we focus more on God’s presence and promises? What if ~ as earth exhales ~ we take a deep soul-cleansing breath? In this pregnant pause, let’s take bubble baths and eat chocolate. Let’s re-group and set new intentions and priorities for our lives. On the other side of this, What will be essential? As the world opens back up, What will we let back in?
Because Hope rose, every brutal life lesson is a beautiful opportunity. Shall we dance?
Unchanging God, because you’re already on the other side of this, we know we’ll be okay. Teach us to trust, remind us to breathe. Show us who we’re created to be. As we seek a new self, a new community, a new world. One day at a time, one neighbor at a time. ~ Amen
1-4; Mark Batterson, Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God
Photo from www.Pixabay.com
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