2020 World Time to pause

The first trimester of 2020 was one which overtook us all. The corona crisis and lockdown will leave some traces for some time, have an impact for several years.

Lots of people in many countries got limited where they could go and were restricted in their life contacts. Churches were closed and lots of people got bounded to the house.

Occasionally people need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. Perhaps now was a good time to take more time for oneself en to think about what happened in the past in your life and where you want to go next. It’s so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we’re going and where we should be going. These months lots of people did not have to go to work and could find themselves ‘free’ at home, though many were not so pleased by that free time to stay at home. Many found themselves chained in these days of quarantine.

Whatever the future might bring, it is not bad to take some exceptionally good time to place yourself in this world or even better ‘out of this world’. These days of bondage by the corona pandemic are not bad to consider where you are with your spiritual health.

This lockdown time is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? In eternity?

In addition to these 10 questions, here are 21 more to help you “Consider your ways.” Think on the entire list at one sitting, or answer one question each day for a month.

11. What’s the most important decision you need to make this year?

12. What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what’s one way you could simplify in that area?

13. What’s the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?

14. What habit would you most like to establish this year?

15. Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?

16. What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it?

17. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your work life this year?

18. What’s one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor (or to another who ministers to you) this year?

19. What’s one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children and grandchildren?

20. What book, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?

21. What one thing do you most regret about last year, and what will you do about it this year?

22. What single blessing from God do you want to seek most earnestly this year?

23. In what area of your life do you most need growth, and what will you do about it this year?

24. What’s the most important trip you want to take this year?

25. What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year?

26. To what need or ministry will you try to give an unprecedented amount this year?

27. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your commute this year?

28. What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year, and what will you do about it?

29. If those who know you best gave you one piece of advice, what would they say? Would they be right? What will you do about it?

30. What’s the most important new item you want to buy this year?

31. In what area of your life do you most need change, and what will you do about it this year?

The value of many of these questions is not in their profundity, but in the simple fact that they bring an issue or commitment into focus. For example, just by articulating which person you most want to encourage this year is more likely to help you remember to encourage that person than if you hadn’t considered the question.

If you’ve found these questions helpful, you might want to put them some place — in a day planner, PDA, calendar, bulletin board, etc. — where you can review them more frequently than once a year.

Prepare yourself for the days you may come out again and meet more people. Make yourself stronger to tell others about the One Who can safeguard us and make our life much easier to bear.

So let’s evaluate our lives, make plans and goals, for when the lockdown comes to its total end and normal life should be able to start again. Let it be like a new start and opening a year with biblical diligence, remembering that,

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage” (Proverbs 21:5).

But in all things let’s also remember our dependence on our King who said,

“Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Let us show to others how we are servants in Christ’s name and how we united go for and defend those followers of Christ who dare to go out in the world and show to others how he is the way to God. Even when in lockdown we should know that the preaching can continue; There are the many tools to have some communication with others. Please make use of them. Be not afraid to use Messenger, Skype, Jitsi, Houseparty, Zoom or any other tool to come in contact with others to speak also about your hope and trust in God. In case you feel lonely or abandoned, you shall feel that by those electronic tools you shall also be able to have some time with others. Then you shall also be able to listen to them and to share thoughts. But such virtual meetings create also an occasion to talk about some other matters than the strictly worldly issues.
Perhaps this lockdowm may just be the right time for you to start doing some preaching work. Why not?

Let the Good News bring some light in these darker times.

 

God bless.

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