I was so excited last December, because it was the end of the year, but not only the end of the year, it was the end of the decade (Remember?). So, looking forward to the new decade, I purchased a new planner - but not just a new yearly planner, a ten-year planner - for the decade! (Check out the picture.)
I thought about how God says in His word, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 ESV), and how the Apostle Paul correlated that in Ephesians 5:15-16, when he said, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (ESV) Not that I had wasted a decade, but I wanted to make the best use of the time I am given, and I figured I could probably get a lot more done if I planned more for the whole decade. I also thought about what Tony Robbins (Is he a Christian? I dunno.) is attributed to have said, “Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year - and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!” (Italics in his quote are mine.) I didn’t want to overestimate, and I certainly didn’t want to underestimate.
And then along comes the coronavirus and the ensuing pandemic. “What happened, God?” This really threw a wrench into my plans...or did it? This “wrench” is obviously a part of God’s will (“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”, Romans 8:28 ESV), so what does this mean for us?
One thing it means for me, and maybe you, is that since we have to be self-isolating, this is a time to focus. Focus on what? Focus on what God wants you to do, or if you don’t know what he wants you to do, finding that out! Maybe we shouldn’t just spend time on the couch watching Netflix all day , or just cruising the Internet, etc., but focusing so we can be prepared for what’s next (“post-pandemic”)!
Great things can happen when you “shut the door” and focus. I am reminded of 2 Kings 4, when one of Elisha’s servants (ministers) was dead, and he left his widow a creditor who was coming to enslave her children. One of the things Elisha told her to do was, among other things that I’ll tell you about later, to “...go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons...So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons.” (2 Kings 4:4 (a)-5 (a) ESV)
So now we’re forced to “shut the door”, in a sense, with this self-isolation. God wants us to make great use of this time to find out His will for you and/or to do it, “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16(b) ESV)