How do we live now? After unforeseen transition has affected our entire globe, what do we do? While we are at home, how can we continue to live as a people set apart (1 Peter 2:9)? As Fellows, this question has been the epicenter of our day to day lives. How do we continue to be Fellows at a time like this; quarantined from community, and geographically isolated from each other? As a massive chunk of our lives has turned virtual, the Fellows program also looks very different today than it looked a month ago: online classes, Zoom meetings, and a multitude more of texts and emails.
Transition is a tricky path to navigate: the ongoing process of continually adapting to where you are, coming from where you’ve been, is not an easy leap to make. Something important to realize is that this process is going to ebb and flow; one minute, we can feel like we own this transition, and the next, we may feel like we’ve made no progress at all. There’s no way around this, and the healthiest posture we can take is to accept it and expect it. Then again, we must also remember to have grace upon ourselves and give the process the time it requires. There’s no such thing as a flawless transition.
Christ calls us as his followers to remember that He is our sufficiency in these strange times and that all things, no matter good or otherwise, work together for the good of those who love Him. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once said that God’s sufficiency is declared without limiting words, and because of this, His sufficiency covers everything that we might need, anytime. What’s more, His grace is sufficient for us, right now, today. It is sufficient to strengthen us, uphold us, and comfort us in these times of potential affliction and grief.
As we acknowledge and address our difficulties and our grief, it makes it all the more bearable to live in this new environment. We cannot and must not deny the hardship of leaving one lifestyle and adapting this new and unfamiliar one.
As our circumstances change, however, our calling as Christ-followers does not. Our mandate does not change. In light of this, we must continue to press on in our faith, to fight the good fight, no matter the situation. Since our circumstances will not adapt to us, we must adapt to them, and since Christ walks alongside us, He will continue to give us His good guidance and counsel as to how we can accomplish that. Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Thessalonians to continually rejoice, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances (1Thess. 5:16-18). This is God’s condensed recipe for peace amidst our troubled seas; among these uncertain times. This antidote for sorrow is joy, which God promises in abundance. Remember that He is your good shepherd, remember what He has done before in your life. Remember that he’s never failed you, and he certainly won’t start now.
