Day 15: The New Normal

THE NEW NORMAL

No longer what was because we are living in

what is THE NEW NORMAL.

But could

THE NEW NORMAL

be a better NORMAL

than before

as we are forced to stand still~

facing our deepest fears & anxieties

as there is no where we can hide.

We stand at a crossroad

and see fear, worry, anxiety & despair~

the road that is so easy to take

because it is what we know when we feel

out of control.

And then we see a road paved with

PEACE & HOPE & JOY

that is unfamiliar in a time of crisis

because

DOUBT blocks its path.

How can we have PEACE when we don't know what tomorrow will be?

How can we have HOPE when we can't even gather together as a group?

How can we have JOY when you don't even know if your neighbor is a carrier?

Could it be that the

THE NEW NORMAL is

a time when we will

experience

GOD at a deeper level

that we have never experienced HIM before

because

even though our NORMAL has changed

PEACE hasn't changed~

" Peace I leave with you; MY peace I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27).

HOPE hasn't changed~

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13)

JOY hasn't changed~

"Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.

 Be thankful in all circumstances,

for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus" ( I Thessalonians 5:16-18).

What if THE NEW NORMAL

is a time when we experience a

PERFECT PEACE

that we have never experienced before

because we never thought we needed it before

when we felt we where in control

when everything appeared to be NORMAL.

Life as we knew it is no longer as we enter into a

NEW NORMAL,

yet is really the same because was I or were you really in control

when things were NORMAL.

Was GOD still wanting us to seek HIM with our whole heart?

Was JESUS still asking us to COME TO HIM WHO ARE ALL WEARY?

Where was GOD & Where was JESUS when things were NORMAL?

Where is GOD & Where is JESUS in our NEW NORMAL?

The same place where THEY always were & always are & will always be.

But where are you?

Want to make our NEW NORMAL the NEW NORMAL

where our eyes will be so

"FIXED our eyes on JESUS, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2)

that we will experience

PERECT PEACE despite the unrest in the world~

"YOU will keep in perfect peace all who trust in YOU,

all whose thoughts are fixed on YOU" (Isaiah 26:3).

Because our HOPE isn't what is seen and what is being felt because

"HOPE does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:5-6)

Because JOY isn't clapping because of the chaos of the world~

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12).

Oh I am not trying to minimize what is going on in this world

because I don't like solitary confinement,

but GOD doesn't either

and that is why

HE is our

PEACE & HOPE & JOY

despite the craziness around us.

Let's kick the brick of DOUBT

out of the way that is at this crossroad

& instead

Draw closer to the ONE who is drawing closer to us~

"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the ALMIGHTY.  This I declare about the LORD: HE alone is my refuge, my place of safety; HE is my GOD, and I trust HIM" (Psalm 91).

Because

HE has never changed & HE will never change

no matter how uncertain we are in

THE NEW NORMAL

Therefore,

these are

"THE WORDS I WOULD SAY" (listen to the song below)