This is the big question- “When will we get back to normal?”  *Cue the nervous laughter. At this point it’s so speculative! We (and even cities) have tried to put a date on returning to what we expect is our regular way of living, but it keeps changing. Usually we can gauge when we get back to “normal” because it happens in the normal patterns of life. We get busy and then the busyness subsides.  When it’s the busy season at work, or playoff/band season for the kids, or vacation season where you are hosting guest or parties …  We have a good sense that our additional business is “abnormal” and will once again return to the normal ebb and flow of our everyday patterns. For the most cases we can tell when that will happen. But right now? It can make you go crazy just not knowing.

What isn’t normal

The Israelites could have never imagined what would happen to them… What was it that changed in their life? 

• The way they lived changed- they were slaves living in homes in Egypt, now they were living in tents wandering in the desert
• The way they survived changed- They had food to eat in Egypt, now they relied on God to send manna and quail
• Where they were headed changed- In Egypt they were stuck as slaves- now they were free headed towards land the Lord promised to them. 
• How they followed the Lord changed- their worship life completely changed from personal worship or worshiping (likely) like their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshiped to following God who was in the form of a cloud by day and fire by night. God commanded them to build a big tent called a tabernacle where they would come to worship and they created a priesthood to lead the people in worship.

A lot changed, and it changed quickly, and it had them asking if things would go back to “normal” soon. They even got impatient and tried the ‘false god route’ (Exodus 32) to speed up what they thought should come to them quickly. It didn’t work. They were on God’s time. When they had what they wanted only a stones throw away they didn’t trust God and ended up adding an additional 40 years of wandering to their journey. 

But, in all the changes, and abnormalities in their life, we see what does not change. 

 

What stays the same?

Sure, for some of us our lives have drastically changed. How schools will handle opening this fall, how we work, how we entertain ourselves, how we communicate, how we worship for the most part has changed.  But in all this change we see things that have stayed the same. 

1. Our daily needs for life do not change. We rely on food and housing and God promises that he will give it. Just like he gave to the Israelites, he still provides for us. God has been using our city leaders and food banks to help with a lot of that.
2. God’s plan does not change. What we have anticipated and planned is completely subject to God’s direction, and when it seems that direction has changed we should not give up hope just because it isn’t happening the way we want. And tells us- go one step at a time, just like he told the Israelites who were despairing and giving up

Exodus 14:15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.

The fire of God’s Word continues to light our way and call us to trust a journey the Lord has planned out for us.

1. Our need for worship does not change. How we worship has looked different for some time now, but see how serious God was about their worship. He added a massive tent (about 50 meters long and 25 meters wide) for them to carry because worship was that essential for them. It was worth trading off the convenience of traveling light because what would have left them with more of a burden was to lose the spiritual rest we receive in worship. 

Why it matters?

Proverbs 3:5–6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

With everything that has changed, hold to what stays the same – our need for a God to provide and a God who directs our paths and a God who is always worthy of our worship and praise. The path for the Israelites led them straight to Christ’s cross- everything we need to anchor us in eternal life. He leads us there too- the path straight to him through Christ. 

An Encouragement

An encouragement for going forward. I think we can all agree that we will be in this pattern of rising and falling cases of COVID. We shouldn’t just “wait this out.” Even in this moment in time God has given us the ability to carry out his work

• If you are comfortable coming to in-person worship, please come! We have space and we’re carrying out procedures to keep everyone safe. 
• If you can’t come- please worship with us online. Our services are live and then loaded up to youTube every week. 
• Watch for Spiritual Growth opportunities. We just finished a Bible Class online I felt was extremely enriching. There will be more to come- it may take some effort or seem odd, but what is normal for Christians to do is gather around God’s Word however we are able. 
• Stay informed. All of our major announcements will be on the crownoflifenola.com/events page. Communicating is difficult. This is how church will communicate to you. 
• Check out the chart below and consider how you might take part in maturing our ministry at Crown of Life. This is a living document. There are parts that still need to be updated, and parts that will change with each new season.