But God,

Well, I think it is safe to say that we are all living differently than we ever have before. I don't know how many times I have used the phrase "It feels like we're living in a movie!" In the past month, but I can assure it has been a lot. Life really does feel different and that is because it is! Our whole lives have been turned upside down in the past month, and it probably never will be the same, at least not for a little while. So the question is, what is our life going to be like from now on?

A part of this honestly feels like to me, what it looks like when a person becomes a believer. When a person meets Jesus for the first time, and truly understands the Gospel, their life gets turned upside down. Ephesians 2:1-10 says:

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Forby grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Notice how we were before we encountered Christ. We were dead, following the prince of the power of the air (Satan), we were children of wrath, we were carrying out all our earthly desires. We were completely and utterly wretched and yet there is still a but...

But God. Two words that occur multiple times in the Bible. Two words that show God's redemptive character. Two words that signal a change. Two words that we would be wise to pay attention to. But God changed our entire life. He turned our world upside down. Nothing can be the same now. We are alive, we are redeemed, we are promised an inheritance, we are saved. And the best part is, we didn't do anything to deserve it. Our God is gracious and kind and merciful to us. He sent his son to die in our place, because he knew we could not be with him any other way. We are so sinful, and God is too perfect to be in relationship with us without a mediator. Jesus is that mediator. Praise God, that he saw us worthy to send his son to die for us.

So how does this compare to our lives right now? To me, this time has made me stop, and truly stop. Not just take a few days off and go back to normal life after. This is our normal now, and quite frankly it has been hard for me to adjust. But I'm working on adjusting. Looking at the process of becoming a believer, like I said your world gets turned upside down. Now our worlds have turned upside down and we're in the phase of figuring out this new normal. We can't do what we used to do anymore, so what are we to do. I think the best thing we can do is look to God. We must look to him to see where our affections have been misplaced. An easy way to do this is to think about the things that have caused us stress or an emotional response to now that we can't have those things or do those things. I'm not saying emotions are bad, they are necessary to our lives and important, but misplaced emotions can signal an idol or an area that has taken too much stock in our lives.

Where have you been looking to for joy? Where have you been spending time? Where has your money gone? The reality is, if you aren't first looking to God for joy, spending time with him, or giving back to him, you've probably been idolizing something else.

This is a time to turn to the cross, to repent, to lay down our lives and follow Jesus. We have all the time in the World, so why would we waste it doing something that doesn't please our creator.

What if this time was meant for us to sanctify us? What if God, being sovereign over all, divinely appointed this time (which I 100% believe he did) to cause us to look at him and to stop chasing these things that are fleeting? What if this time could change our lives completely and make us love God more? Who wouldn't want that?

Friends, a lot of us have been praying for revival for the past few years, and what if this is it? What if this is the time to not just sit back and watch netflix at home, but tangibly be the hands and feet of Jesus. Obviously we can't be physically next to people, but the Gospel must be preached. Why not facetime that person you've been praying for? Why not spend some of your days fasting and praying for the world? Why not serve those who can't go out and get groceries for them? Why not just spend time with God? This could be the time that God speaks to us and gives us vision for how we can build the Kingdom. This could be the time we've been waiting for. Let us not waste this. God is moving, God is working, and just like when you become a Christian, life will never be the same. Take some time with God, be still, listen for his voice, and then serve his people like never before.