Grace in the Midst of a Pandemic

I’m getting a bit tired of talking about the pandemic. At first, many of us imagined it was going to be a brief pause button in our lives that we’d soon unpause and be back to normal. Nope! This has changed our lives in a lasting way already.

Gem and I have experienced a great deal of change in what we do in our work and how we do it. I wonder if you’ve experienced the same. We’ve found these to be among the most wearying months of ministry we’ve ever experienced. Change is tiring. We’re finding we need to rest with more intention.

But I’ve also found myself wondering how God might bring about good in the midst of something so trying and hard. The limitations of this season may not just be an infringement on our freedoms. It could be a discipline that produces more freedom within us.

We could learn to live gently, graciously and kindly in the face of what we do not like. This would be more in the spirit of Jesus than some of the complaining about loss of freedom I’ve been hearing from some.

Sometimes “can’ts” are a gift in disguise. There are things we used to do a lot of that we can’t do at all now. Perhaps this season will give us a chance to assess just how critical everything we were doing actually was. Maybe we were doing too much.

We might want to reconsider whether the normal that lies ahead of us should be an attempt to return to our old normal. Perhaps we can remember that our lives never actually consisted primarily in our activities, but in our communion with the Living God.

It’s my prayer that you will discover the ways in which the Spirit of God has been at work in your life in these challenging months, doing his gracious work in and through you. That’s a piece of work worth cooperating with!

For Reflection

• In what ways have you felt limited in this pandemic quarantining season?
• How might these limitations be something God uses to do good work in you? (If you’re not sure, ask God to help you see it).

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash