This pandemic. It’s consuming everything. Our conversations. Our thoughts. Our actions. (How much toilet paper did you buy?) We’re living through restrictions. Travel bans. Gathering limits of ten people or less. (We miss hugging our people at church!) You can’t clear your throat in public without someone wanting to quarantine you.
For those of us in America who are used to our freedoms and don’t like being told what to do, this can seem like pure torture. Panic, fear and anxiety are at an all time high. There are so many unknowns right now. How long will this last? What if…? What happens next?
The news is flooded with what to do and what not to do. Wash your hands. (It’s a little concerning people had to be told to wash their hands. Weren’t they doing that already?) Stay 6 feet away from people. No handshakes or hugs.
We’ve had to adapt. Our church is online only right now. We’ve moved our Bible studies and prayer meetings to Zoom. The kids are doing school virtually. My daughter Zoomed into her college writing class in her pj’s.
So many things have been cancelled and it’s grieving. But I have some good news for you. There are some things that haven’t been cancelled. Like laundry. Laundry is NEVER cancelled. But there’s something else.
Purpose isn’t cancelled!
We can still carry out purpose even when everything is changing all around us! We’re here to serve Him whatever that looks like. We may not be serving in kids church or the parking lot, but that doesn’t mean our service to the King has been suspended.
The apostle Paul did some amazing thing for God. He went on several missionary journeys. He planted countless churches, performed miracles, prayed them through a shipwreck to safety, and won multitudes to Christ.
Those were some amazing times of fruitfulness on mission. But they weren’t his only seasons of fruitfulness.
Paul was thrown in prison on more than one occasion. And I for one am glad he was. Yes. I’m glad Paul was thrown in prison, especially now, because we can learn something so valuable from him in the middle of this pandemic.
Paul showed us that we can make an impact for God in the middle of a quarantine. We can fulfill purpose even we’re isolated and our movements are restricted.
Paul wrote some of the most powerful of his letters to the churches from prison. Ephesians. Philippians. Colossians. Philemon. I Timothy. II Timothy. Titus.
Think about it. There are so many truths that still bless us today because he had time on his hands in prison to write those letters. He didn’t choose to be in prison. He may have preferred to be out ministering to the masses, but we are still benefiting from Paul’s imposed isolation.
Paul also mentored people while he was in prison through those letters. He wrote to his sons in the faith, Timothy and Titus, to encourage and mentor them, and we still have information that helps us pastor God’s people well that we glean from those three books that were written from prison.
Lastly, Paul ministered to those who were all around him. He talked to the guards and anyone who came by to visit him about Jesus and the grace and goodness of God.
Just because the style of Paul’s ministry went from face-to-face to an almost entirely written format didn’t change the effectiveness of his ministry. I’m sure he had no idea that writing those letters in that prison cell would have the impact it did, but I’d say it expanded his influence exponentially.
Face-to-face, he could have impacted hundreds or thousands. But from that isolated cell, he’s reached millions of people for thousands of years with the life-changing truths we hold so dear.
So in this time of physical restrictions and limitations, don’t let it limit the impact you can make for God. Ask Him how to stay on mission and find creative ways to serve Him in this hour.
Take your elderly neighbor a meal and write them a sweet note. Call the local food banks to see what they need. Check in with someone you haven’t heard from in a while. Write someone a letter. Post something encouraging on social media.
Social distancing doesn’t mean social disengagement. So what if we have to adapt to a temporary new normal. We can still stay connected through the means we have available.
Even though everything around us seems to be closed, purpose isn’t cancelled! We can stay on mission with God. The sky is the limit for how many people we can touch with His love.