Looking Forward to a New Normal

I find myself trying to go back to the way life was a month ago.

What if God is saying to believers –

“I don't want your life to be like it was. I am preparing a new normal for you. Stop looking back and look forward to the new normal I have planned for you.”

Until this morning, my daily prayer time has followed the same outline as the past 10 years. Should it be different during this time of social distancing?

Yesterday I wrote that God is saying to us “Stop; wake up; follow me.” If God is talking to us, then the question today is, “What do these commands mean in our current world?

Stop. Usually, God confronts an individual, or a church or a nation. This time,  the entire world has stopped. Quit doing what you're doing. Listen to the still small voice of God. Where are you going? What road are you on? Is it the wrong road?

Wake up. A good analogy would be a coach calling a timeout when his team is behind 20 to 2 in the 1st quarter of a basketball game. He might say to the team, “You are running hard but you aren't following the game plan. You are playing hard but not on the plan.”

Follow me. Continuing our analogy the coach would tell the team, “Follow my coaching. I designed a game plan for you to win. Just follow the plan.

For the believer, our coach is the true, triune God. He planned our life, created us, redeemed us, and adopted us so he has the right to say, Follow me”. 

Follow me means to love God with all your heart soul and mind. It means to share the gospel with believers and unbelievers. It means teach The Bible. It means meeting the needs of the helpless. It means fellowship with one another. It means practice spiritual disciplines.

God's message hasn't changed. Our purpose for being alive has not changed. So, let's get back in the game of life, adapt to the world around and submit to God’s command, “Follow Me.”