Isolation. Lockdown. Quarantine. Covid. Fear. These words have become synonymous within our culture, worldwide. “Iso” was even Australia’s word of 2020. Classic.
This season has been tough. Borders have been and are still shut. Unemployment, isolation, and mental health have dramatically risen, among other things. Economies are struggling. Governments have been forced to think and act in unprecedented ways in an attempt to contain an invisible virus. Covid is impacting people’s health, globally.
There’s been loss, fear, and heartbreaking death.
Since last year I have personally been through over 14 months total of lockdowns, isolation, and quarantines. I am currently in my 9th lockdown. During this time I’ve experienced deep loss, heartache, and things being unfairly taken away from me, out of my control. I had covid when I was overseas and have seen the effects of it, not just in a physical way.
To say the past eighteen months have been hard is an understatement. Isolation, lockdown, quarantine, covid, and fear may feel like a “new normal.”
A question to reflect on: what was normal pre-pandemic?
Our culture is ever-changing, so weren’t we already living in a culture that was ever-evolving & forming into a “new normal”, anyway? Isn’t every day a “new normal” on this basis then? Does a “new normal” only refer to something that would stay long term; something that became permanent?
Basing our definition of “normal” on things of the flesh and earth is unstable and unsustainable. Romans 8:6 (NASB) states that “the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life & peace.”
Matthew 7:24-27 also discusses how a house built upon a rock (Jesus & the Kingdom) remains stable and firmly rooted in stormy weather. It doesn’t waver. But a house built upon the sand (things of the world and the flesh) will collapse under the weight of a storm, because it is not built on a firm foundation.
Our most normal culture actually isn’t the culture of the world.
The world is ever-changing and uncertain. The culture of the Kingdom is supposed to be our most natural, normal culture. It’s stable, solid as a rock, and unchanging. It’s life-giving. The kingdom of God is filled with love in the midst of fear. It’s will be our steadfast normal throughout this pandemic; not our “new normal” that we as a society are striving to disappointingly achieve.
The Kingdom has always been our only constant.
There is so much truth in the normality of the Kingdom. I encourage you to ask God to personally reveal what nuggets of His Kingdom He wants to speak over your heart & spirit during this time. And let them live & breathe within your heart.
