Staycation
Author: Pastor Mitch Williams
March 26, 2020
Have you made the most of your forced staycation? It’s tempting to dwell on purely the negative side of the greatest pandemic to strike our earth in the past 100 years. Indeed everyone in the world is at some risk for catching COVID-19. As a result, the American population has been forced inside to take precautions. Therefore our work and schools have closed. Our social calendars have been wiped out. Life’s greatest celebrations postponed. Jobs killed, travel halted, and people isolated. Even our own church has locked its doors.
For how long? No one really knows. Some say weeks, others say months, before life returns to normal. One headline recently read, “The world will never be the same after the Coronavirus.”
Fortunately, we Christians have a distinct advantage when it comes to facing trails, worries, and yes even pandemics. We don’t view threats to our safety and our way of life the way the world does. Instead, we look from a paradigm of courage and peace. Not because we hold it personally, but because we know the One who holds the world in His hands.
It was Jesus who told us in His epic sermon, don’t worry about your life or your body, which loosely translated for today means don’t get anxious about your health and whether you will catch a deadly virus. Jesus also said, don’t worry about your clothes, which for today means don’t be apprehensive about your financial picture. But how can we not focus on such things in face of a pandemic?
Jesus answers that question in the same passage with this response: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.” Matthew 6:33
When we make our relationship with Jesus our first priority, then the fears and worries of this world will come into perspective. Pastor Lee Venden called it the three-legged stool – daily time with Jesus in the Bible, in prayer, and in sharing Him. It’s so true, Jesus gives us more than courage to get through the uncertainties of life, but in fact the power to be a blessing to others along the way!
Again I ask, how are you doing with this forced staycation? With Jesus as your best friend make the most of it! Spend more time with Him! Spend more quality time with your family. Call those friends you haven’t talked with in a long time. And ask the Lord who you can bless and love during this time of isolation. Let’s make the most of our staycation in how we love and serve our families and others, in the name of Jesus!
My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action. (1 John 3:18)
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