Faithfully Flourishing During Difficult Days

In the movie Shadowlands, Anthony Hopkins who portrays C.S. Lewis, is wearily propping himself up inside a dimly lit Oxford library and makes this apropos statement regarding the tiresome days between Winter and Spring:

“I’ve always found this a trying time of the year.  The leaves not yet out, mud everywhere you go.  Frosty mornings gone.  Sunny mornings not yet come.  Give me blizzards and frozen pipes, but not this nothing time, not this waiting room of the world.”

Many of us may feel like we're stuck in the "waiting room of the world", this year especially, because of the continued need to quarantine against the spread of the coronavirus.  Feeling locked away, becoming uneasy if our throat feels scratchy, suspicious of every cough and sniffle; wishing we could just get back to "normal".

So how do we faithfully flourish while we feel isolated and maybe even overwhelmed?

We can start by counting our blessings. Over and over again throughout the New Testament God commands us to consider our blessings and be thankful (Philippians 4:6-7, Colossians 3:15-17; 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18,1 Timothy 4:4-5, to name a few).

What can we be thankful for?

• God is still on His throne! (Psalm 11:3-4,7)
• God is BIGGER than what we are facing! (Psalm 147:5, Isaiah 40:28, Jude 25)
• God can still strengthen you, comfort you, and envelop you in His peace (Hebrews 4:14-16, Ephesians 3:14-21, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Philippians 4:6-7)
• God has granted wisdom and knowledge to men and women who are doing all they can to help! (Proverbs 2:6, James 1:5)
• God has established governments who are doing their best to protect us (1 Timothy 2:1-3, Romans 13:1-2)
• You still have blessings from God (Psalm 68:19, Habakkuk3:17-18, Matthew 6:25-34)
• You still have access to prayer - if it is His will, God can help those you can't get to! (James 5:16)
• You now have abundant time to read God's word (Revelation 1:3, 2 Timothy 2:15)
• You have opportunity to encourage others through uplifting phone calls, emails, etc. (Ephesians 4:29)
• You have Today. Which means that God in lovingkindness has granted you another day to try again, to try harder, and to keep trying - and He is right there with you every step of the way! (Psalm 92:1-2, Hebrews 3:12-16, 4:16)

One sure way to flourish is to strengthen our roots while enduring difficulties - God shows us the way when He instructs us to count our blessings and be thankful! It changes our hearts, our minds, our perspective about EVERYTHING! It opens our eyes to the real SONshine that has never ceased to shine round about us, and allows us to shine for Him even while in this waiting room of the world!

Are you ready to strengthen your roots and thrive during this time of quarantine by developing a heart overflowing with gratitude? Me too!

From wherever you are right now - BEGIN!