Do you suppose there will ever be a “normal” again? As the beloved Old Testament Prophet Amos said: “I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet.” I really have no guess if we will ever return to normal, if we really want to return to normal or if that is some sort of a sentimental dream! Lol. So, what do we do while we wait on the old normal, the new normal or whatever is coming?
Proverbs 4:23 encourages us this way: “Above all else guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life.” That is a pretty good place to start. Guard your heart is sound biblical advice. But what are we guarding our hearts from? When times are tough I think it is easy to give into the flesh and into our old nature. It is so easy to revert back to what was once our only nature…our old fleshly, carnal, lost, selfish nature. Our old nature is a breeding ground for things like pessimism, fear, anxiety, bitterness, resentment, rage, vengeance, and the need for control, arrogance, pride, immorality, surrender, stinking thinking and the like. I suspect that most of us are not plunged into such a pool of despair. We are more likely to wade into it…you know, starting with our toe, then our foot, then before we know it we are swimming, or drowning, in a backwash of our old nature.
But we, as followers of Christ, are not to live by our old nature. We have put that off as though it was a dirty garment that no longer fits who we are and who God has destined us to be. So we heed the advice of the wise man and diligently guard our hearts…what goes in and what comes out. Any time is a good time to practice what we refer to as the spiritual disciplines: prayer, Bible Study, devotional reading, rest, not having the last word, worship, giving, serving, encouraging, memorizing scripture, etc. We tend to get “good at” what we practice. These may well be the best of times and the worst of times but they are the only times we have. So let’s make the most of them.
Football teams have not been sure if they were going to have a season or not. Football players with any wisdom have been practicing and preparing as thought they are having a season. When the decision is made to have a football season, they will not have to “get in shape”. They have already been practicing and are in shape and ready to go. I am suggesting that team JIBC continue practicing the spiritual disciplines and be ready to go. Our season does not begin in September. Our season is today, tomorrow, this week and next.
There is a lot of life that may or may not return to normal. What I do know is that whatever the near future looks like, it must include followers of Jesus who have guarded their hearts, practiced daily the spiritual disciplines that make us more like Jesus and are actively engaged in ministry and mission in our community and around the world. “Above all else, guard your heart for from it flow the springs of life”. Let it flow!
Pastor Tom
