Have you ever been on vacation, and you simply couldn’t wait to get home to your familiar and comfortable bed? The vacation was nice, the bed was comfortable, but there is just something about our own bed! Our natural tendency is to create patterns that are familiar and comfortable. Often, we do not even realize we have created these familiar comforts, until they are taken away, as was the case this last year with the pandemic.
If there is anything we can learn about ourselves from the pandemic, I think it is that we like what is familiar. During the duration of the pandemic, it seemed as though most of what we were familiar with, had as our “normal” or “usual”, was turned upside down. The pandemic required that we make changes, daily. Political leaders would announce mandates for how we were to live, and we were required to adapt to those changes, those new ways of living, in order to be in compliance with the leaders God appointed over us (Romans 13:1).
This was not easy. Parents and children had to adjust to changes in the educational system. Workers had to adjust to changes in their workplaces. Since most people were home, with their children, all day and all night, there were many changes in family life. Even those who were essential workers had to adjust to unfamiliar requirements. I still have a hard time remembering to put a mask on when I go out in public!
What made it especially challenging was the need to make changes in our daily lives quickly. One day we were out eating in restaurants, shopping in malls, and then the next day everything was being shut down (especially for those of us living in New York).
Sudden changes from the familiar to the unfamiliar can cause upheaval in our lives. But God can steady us in and through the unfamiliar.
Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
God was not taken by surprise in any of this. In fact, He knew before we were born that we would live through this pandemic. His knowledge of these events were known to Him since before He created our world. He IS the sovereign Lord!
Colossians 1:16-17: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
Romans 11:13: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
That is great news! It is great news because God wants us to look to Him for help, at all times, and especially when our lives are tossed about by the events of this world, and God is fully equipped to guide and encourage us through the unfamiliar events in our lives.
Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Psalm 9:9-10: “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
The pandemic is not the only event that tosses people into the unfamiliar. The sudden death of a loved one (parent, spouse, child, etc.), a horrific accident (leaving one paralyzed, blind, etc.), an earthquake, tornado, or the knowledge of a lifechanging illness can also work to set us off balance. Even events that we plan for, and are excited about, can unsettle us, such as a move, marriage, the birth of a child, etc.
Anything that takes us out of our normal routine can cause us to crave the familiarity of what we consider normal for our lives. But really, what is truly normal?
I chuckle at the weather forecasts. Each year meteorologists come up with new terms to identify weather conditions. I remember when we moved back to New York from California, and listening to some of the winter forecasts, wondering what some of the new terminology really meant.
What is most familiar to us is not always what is best for us.
What is most familiar to us is our sin, and that is something we need to be awakened to. It is of eternal significance that we recognize that our familiar patterns of sin must be broken, in order to experience the freedom God offers His own. As we rely upon God’s Holy Spirit, we are able to break those familiar patterns of sin, and live as the new person we were reborn into, when accepting Christ as Lord and Savior.
When we have that bond with the Lord, dealing with other unfamiliar situations becomes less traumatic. Certainly no one has ever, or will ever, understand the possible trauma for God’s only Son to take on one of our very limiting human frames. Jesus rose above whatever limitations the human body brought. We can also do likewise, as we abide in Him.
Psalm 91:4-6. “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.”
Spending time in God’s Word, and with Him in prayer, are the foundational “tools” we have to aid us in dealing with the unfamiliar that shakes us up.
As I spend time considering the biographies and autobiographies of the men and women in the Bible, I realized that life is best lived being able to adjust to change, especially swift changes.
Consider Abraham. One day he was living in Ur of the Chaldees. God stepped in, and the next day he was on an adventure to become the “father” of the nation of Israel. Following God in the unfamiliar was the best decision he made.
Genesis 15:7: “7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
Hebrews 11:8-12: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Additionally, God gave him a new name!
Nehemiah 9:7: “”You are the LORD God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham.”
How about Moses. One day he was Pharoah’s “son”, and after a not so good decision, he was on the run. Then he got settled into that new lifestyle, and God stepped in to redirect his life in a major way – to be His agent to lead God’s people out of slavery. (See Exodus 2-3 and Hebrews 11: 23-29). Following God in the unfamiliar was the best decision he made.
Think about Daniel. A young boy, exiled to foreign Babylon, and called by God to minister to multiple kings, even to the extent of ending up in a lion’s den. (See Daniel) Talk about the unfamiliar! Following God in the unfamiliar was the best decision he made.
The Apostle Paul was catapulted from the familiar to the unfamiliar on that fateful day when Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. Life went from being somewhat comfy, chasing down Christians to kill them, to being the one in regular threat of his own death. Following God in the unfamiliar was the best decision he made.
Then we get to Revelation. If you think the pandemic has caused upheaval in your life, and if we are living in the days when the events of Revelation play out, the pandemic will look like a walk in the park!
What is it about the familiar that we really crave? What is it we really need that we are looking to the familiar to fulfill?
For me, it is a sense of security. The familiar things, patterns, in my life give me a sense of control. The truth is, there is no security in those things that are familiar, which is a big lesson from the pandemic. The financial crisis in 2008 proved that people’s worlds can be rocked and tossed about when they think their security is in money. The only way to have true security, is to rely upon the One who does not change, does not lie, whose love is unconditional, and is truly in absolute power over everything in our lives.
What I crave, and what I truly think I need can only found in my relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. He is always faithful. He is always on top of all the details of my moments, my days. His mercies are new every morning, and His grace is sufficient for each day. His love is unconditional. His protection and timing are perfect. Without Jesus I would be undone when the unfamiliar enters my day.
But God, through Jesus, has provided the opportunity for eternal life. He can be trusted with safely taking me into the new life with Jesus that is promised in Revelation 21-22, therefore I can trust Him with my today.
That safety will likely not look like what I might consider safe. That safety might include imprisonment for my faith, or even death for His cause, but God will faithfully get me to my eternal destination. I can truly trust Him with the unfamiliar!
How do you handle life when the unfamiliar greets you? If you are not relying upon Jesus, I’d like to talk with you about Him, and the “benefits” of a relationship with Him. Please contact me at the email below.
Living for Jesus, Donna
P.S. If this has helped you, please feel free to share it with others!
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Copyright 2020 Donna Shappy
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