Dealing With "The New Normal"

Our local schools are planning to open later this month.  We’re preparing for our fall church activities, too.  Sunday school, Faith Builders, confirmation class, youth groups--we’re making plans for all of these things.

The plans are not like they’ve been in the past, of course.  Hand sanitizer, social distancing, and face masks have become the order of the day.  Many of us long for the day when we can go “back to normal”, but that day appears to be far off.  Maybe it will never come.  You may have heard the phrase “the new normal”.  That may be where we are.  Time will tell, I guess. 

I can’t tell you what to think or how to feel about this.  You think what you think, and you feel what you feel.  I do have a few suggestions, though.

First, regardless of what you think or how you feel, make up your mind that you’re going to be happy anyway.  That’s easier said than done, sometimes.  I realize that.  But really, it’s the only logical thing to do, not just in this instance but in most instances.  Griping and complaining about the way things are won’t change anything.  All it will do is make you unhappy.  I’m not saying you have to like what’s going on.  But don’t let it determine your happiness.  Make up your mind to be happy anyway.

Second, and more important, remember that nothing about God has changed, and nothing about our responsibilities and Christians has changed.  The Bible tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  That’s true no matter what human beings may regard as “normal”.  God’s holiness, God’s righteousness, God’s power, God’s love--none of that has changed.  The things Jesus told us to do--love God, love our neighbor, be faithful to God, serve God, repent of our sins, pray regularly, do to others and you would have them do to you--none of those things have changed, either.

Third, remember that our true home is not in this world.  Our true home is with God in heaven.  That means that, for a Christian, our circumstances really don’t matter all that much.  We cannot totally ignore them, obviously.  Some circumstances are clearly more pleasant than others, and God understands why we prefer the pleasant ones.  But no matter what our circumstances are, they are not permanent.  Nothing about our lives here is permanent.  In God’s terms, all of our lives here are pretty short.  Our lives in the next world are eternal.  That’s the life we really need to focus on.

So do your best to be happy and follow Christ.  God will see, God will know, and God will reward you.  Maybe in this world, but certainly in the next one.