The impacts of the coronavirus sit at the forefront of all our minds. It’s killing hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. It’s evil. People are losing their jobs or having their hours and salaries reduced. The future seems so uncertain. The level of stress is mounting for many; including myself.
This pandemic is a once in a lifetime opportunity to self-reflect and to connect deeper with God. It may be hard to believe this, but this pandemic should be seen as a blessing!
Read: Navigating Marriage
You may be thinking I’m nuts and the effects of being quarantined have gotten to me, but please hear me out.
Complacency the deadly foe
Before the “virus” came into our lives like a whirlwind, we all had a daily routine. This “routine” looked different for each of us, but it gave us a sense of normalcy and stability. However, there is a downfall that came with it- complacency. A. W. Tozer writes this about complacency:
Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so very long, in vain (The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine)
We all have allowed complacency to set in at one time or another. Like a shade, we allowed it to hinder our spiritual growth. The first blessing in the midst of this pandemic is that our daily routine has been interrupted. As a result, we are able to shake off the complacency and allow ourselves to grow spiritually again.
We should take this time to seek out the presence of God. If you are not taking the time to connect deeper with God, you are not taking advantage of blessing within the chaos. So, take the time out of your day, pray, and talk to God. Do this every day and you will develop a ‘new’ daily routine.
Connecting with our “inner” self
The second blessing of being quarantined is the ability to connect with our inner-self away from our normal life. With the busyness of our daily life, we all lack a quiet time. Balancing work and all the different obligations with home life can be very difficult. We often place our family ahead of ourselves too much, and the time we do have available, we spend that trying to recuperate. Some of you may have more quiet time than others but take advantage of being quarantined and carve out some time for yourself. Go for a walk or a jog (remember 6 feet!), and just connect with yourself. Allow yourself to think freely and reconnect with yourself and your inner thoughts.
Maybe during this alone time, you may realize that you have become a stranger to yourself and allowed “busyness” to disconnect yourself with yourself. This alone time may help you in a lot of ways. You may discover you enjoy exercising, or that God is calling you to start a ministry or maybe pick-up a new hobby. Regardless, set aside alone time for yourself. Once the quarantined has been lifted and life goes back to normal, take this new habit and incorporate it into your new routine.
Quality time with your spouse
The last blessing of this chaos is you now have more time to connect with your spouse. As stated above, our busy lifestyles can cause time sucks, leaving little to no time for our spouse. Perhaps you are intentional with your time and you do make time for your spouse. If so, great! But if you’re like every household in America, you may not be so intentional with your time.
Our time of quarantine has brought my wife and me closer. We see each other every day. We take breaks from work to talk and we even have lunch together. When we’re done with work, we play board games or do a couples bible study together. Prior to the pandemic, we weren’t so intentional. Over the past month, we have been more intentional with our quality time and it has made our marriage better.
My suggestion is, find something ‘new’ you both can do together. Whether it’s starting a bible study online, play board games, pray or have more sex. If you’re not taking advantage of this time and spending more quality time with your spouse, you’re not seeing the blessing this chaos has provided.
The chaos caused by this evil coronavirus has given us a blessing. It may not seem like it, but it has. Being cooped up in our home should not be viewed as a burden. It’s a blessing. We are able to make more time connecting with God, ourselves, and our spouse. But if your binge-watching Netflix and not being intentional with your time, you’re not seeing the blessing this chaos has given you. So, get off the couch, dust off the Dorrito crumbs, and be more intentional with your time.
Christian, Husband, Political junkie, Braves fan, Marvel Nerd, craft beer aficionado, and a sinner saved by grace. He has a passion for helping Christian men grow in their faith. He is the founder and editor of Joshua’s Outpost.
