What to Think Right Now

“Remember when you once dreamed of being where you are right now.”

-Tom Holland

I was reminded of this powerful quote while going through an old diary. Ironically, I am in a place now where I had only dreamed of being at that time. Not some fantastic location, either physically or mentally. Rather, I’m away from a lot of the stress factors in my life, and perhaps that was what I really needed.

Right now can be a really hard time to be appreciative. I totally get that. I feel the pain of those missing out on their “lasts”, or celebrations that only come once, or just going crazy while being surrounded by the same few people day after day. I know it must be so hard to worry about something we can’t control.

But as I’ve said time and time again, because it can never be said enough, fear is the greatest robber of all. I have talked about how fear steals joy, but fear also deeply damages our relationship with God. It causes us to not do what God wants us to do, and instead view His calling as a disruption in our daily to-do lists.

This virus is a major disruption in our lives. But do we have to let it be?

We could use this time to reach out to others. We could try new things, get more rest, look back on the past to see what God is doing. God isn’t silent during this time, but we can only hear Him if we listen with an open heart. I emphasis open because if we don’t want to hear what He’s saying, or we aren’t prepared to act on it, then what’s the point in listening?

I have a friend, a dear friend of mine who I absolutely love of course, but one thing she does that bothers me is that she often asks me for advice, but already has her own plans in mind. She will repeatedly ask me the same questions and wait around until I just say, “Go along with whatever you wanted.” It annoys me because I feel like she’s not really asking for me to guide her to the right decision, she will just hear the part she wants to hear.

We can so easily fall into the trap of just hearing what we want to hear from God and getting disappointed by the results. Even if God does tell you to do something and it doesn’t go as planned, it doesn’t mean you heard wrong, it just means that God’s plan isn’t going the way you expected. He has something even bigger in store for you.

I hope that you can find at least one thing to feel grateful for during this time. The biggest gift you can give yourself is not throwing a pity party for yourself, but rather feeling hopeful and thankful for your life.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

-1 Chronicles 16:34