With everyone stuck at home (myself included), I figure it may be a good time to share some midweek encouragement.  In many ways, just a few short days into this "experience," if you are like me, it probably already feels like the walls are suffocating and time is crawling by...and I'm an introvert and an acknowledged homebody!  For a society that has become so accustomed to having an endless supply of options, this real lack of choices may feel like a prison sentence.  But I think that a simple change in perspective may lead us to see our current circumstances as less of a burden and more of a blessing.  Allow me to list several that I think we may be missing:

1. Time
     If you are like me, you likely have lost count of all of the things you would surely do if only you had the time.  Maybe it is something simple like reading a book or taking the time to finish a project at home.  Maybe it is something more substantial, like writing a book or learning to play guitar (those are mine).  Regardless of what it is, we have been given, at least for the time being, more time than most of us are used to having.

     For the parents out there, you may be rolling your eyes, thinking "yeah right, my kids are bouncing off of the walls right now...I'm just trying to survive."  I'm right there with you, but there's hope for us too.  Let me challenge us to think of our families not as an obstacle to us accomplishing our goals, but rather as a vital resource to help us accomplish them.  Want to finish that project at home?  How about including the kids (and teaching them some new skills in the process)?  Want to read a good book?  How about reading it as a family?  Want to learn an instrument?  Learn together!  Sure, it all may take twice as long, but for the first time in probably forever, you likely have extra time on your hands.  Use it to make some memories!

2.  Loss of control
     You may be thinking, how is losing control a blessing???  For many of us, that is probably our greatest fear.  Just look at the hoarding phenomena that is taking place right now.  With so many things in flux; our health, our economy, our schedules; it probably just feels like nothing is certain.  So, what can we do?  Buy cases of toilet paper and whole shopping carts full of milk of course!

     It may seem funny, but in reality, what is happening at our grocery stores is simply a reaction to our greatest fears seemingly coming true.  When everything feels like it is falling apart, having a decade's worth of canned goods in the pantry somehow feels reassuring, even if somewhere in the back of our minds we know that most of that stuff will expire before we can ever use it up.  In reality, if we could all take a deep breath and relax a bit, our grocery store's shelves would be as full as they ever were before all of this started.  There's no real disruption in supply, but the demand has exploded.  We know this, but we struggle to believe it.  And empty shelves and public panic only serves to further fuel our fears.  Our minds are playing tricks on us and we are just grasping for something we can control in the midst of so much uncertainty.

     However, let me assure you that this won't be the end of the world as we know it.  In fact, this is a great opportunity for our control-freak culture to just take a moment to breathe.  One of the greatest lies we tell ourselves is that we are in control.  The reality is that there is very little in our lives for which we are actually in control.  For the most part, the control we think we have is an illusion.  But perhaps in the moment where we are reminded of just how little control we actually have, we can focus our attention on the one who is in control...God.

     Psalm 115:3 says, "Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases."  Proverbs 16:9 reminds us, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."  These are just a smattering of the numerous scriptures that celebrate the sovereignty and providence of God.  Sovereignty is God's right and power to do that which he pleases.  Providence on the other hand is the good and wise execution of that sovereignty.  God is both able to do all that he pleases, and his nature assures us that all that he does is good and wise and profitable for us as his creatures...even when we can't understand it.  The more we can be reminded of the bigness of God (his sovereignty and providence), and our smallness (lack of power and utter dependence), the more we are in a place to live lives that are freed up from trying to control things we can't control and were never meant to.

3.  Opportunity
     One of the "silver linings" of any calamity that befalls mankind is that it serves up, on a platter, so many opportunities to live out our faith.  Let's be honest, sometimes we are quick to miss or look past opportunities to love and serve our neighbors, share the hope of the gospel, and sacrifice our own wants or needs, comforts or preferences, for the greater good.  It shouldn't be this way, but whether intentional or not, often it is.

     Right now, we as Christians, have the awesome responsibility to lead the way in showing kindness, care, compassion, and generosity to our fellow man.  We can lead the charge in serving others and being good neighbors.  We can serve everyone from the least of these to the greatest.  This is our commission from our Lord, and all of the excuses we have for not walking in obedience have been stripped away.  What will we make of this opportunity???

     I pray that this message find you and your loved ones well.  We are praying for you!

In Grace,
Chris Morris