How To Not Waste Your Quarantine
We find ourselves in an unprecedented moment as the global pandemic of COVID-19 spreads. College campuses closed, home educating, online church, and work from home are the reality for most Americans. Andy Crouch paints the picture of social distancing as the best way to love our neighbor far better than I, so I commend his work to you. (But for real, please stay home, for the love of those most vulnerable. It’s not fear. It’s love.)
However, as we find ourselves in self-quarantine, how can we take advantage of the gift before us? (By the way—I’m NOT saying that God released coronavirus to make us rest. That’s awful theology. But He does use everything for good.) This time at home is an opportunity, but it would be easy to get to the end of this season realizing that we didn’t live fully into this unique moment.
As many are looking for ways to move church and discipleship online, there are probably more opportunities than ever to access prayer, worship, and biblical teaching. Especially if you struggle with anxiety or fear, join in! But…. I want to caution you—don’t fill every moment with a video call or facetime!
If you feel the need to fill every moment of time with a FaceTime call or video conference, you should probably use this time instead to pray about why solitude is so scary!
image from a college ministry student leader, Emily Sirota https://msha.ke/emilysirota/
So how do we live into the opportunity before us?
1. Press in to Jesus!
Lean into the nature and grace of Jesus. This is a time to cultivate intimacy like never before. Worshipping from home teaches us something. Will you wait for a worship leader to swell in the bridge of your favorite song and count on someone else’s anointing to draw you in? Or will you worship as if Jesus is worthy of praise and adoration whether it’s from your bedroom or with hundreds of people?
If we are to walk in an unprecedented season, we need to plumb the depths of God’s love and presence like never before.
2. Learn!
Read the books that have been sitting on your shelf! Study a book of the Bible that you haven’t read before or in a long time. Learn how to cook a meal that you love.
So many people are making resources available for free or significantly discounted. Don’t just binge on Netflix and re-watch Grey’s this month.
How will you come out of this with fresh excitement about God’s word and the world He delights in?
3. Self-care. But for real.
We are made to rest, but too many of us forget that’s a command from God.
This is a time to love ourselves (and others) well by wrestling with our own Hero Syndrome. For many of us when work, campus ministry, Bible study, etc. cannot exist as usual, it’s not just disappointment, but our very identity that becomes unsettled. This is a time to allow the Lord to burn away every identity that has become primary before being a child of God.
Enjoy this time at home and care for yourself—face masks, exercising creativity, and meditate on the Word of God. Do a deeper soul care dive, too.
The disciples were sent into time of prayer before the moment that birthed the Church. As we lean into the Lord in this season, I believe that Awakening is on the other side.