Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
A while back I caught the idea of the new “normal” broadcasted from the radio. As the pandemic impacted, if not devastated, many in 2020 – the new “normal” spoke to the need to carry on with life, albeit, differently than what it was before.
Routines changed. Wearing masks out in public. Celebrating holidays or special events by yourself, or only with members of your immediate family. Going to school full time while being at home behind a computer all day. Have you found yourself reminiscing for how life carried on before COVID-19?
Is it possible that God isn’t all that impressed with what we call “normal” within His Kingdom of Grace (the church)? God doesn’t have a problem with new, as long as “new” doesn’t forsake how we confess faith in heavenly Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit. But, He does have a problem with “normal” if it implies getting stuck in a rut.
“Church members don’t want to leave their programs behind; they want to know specifically how they are going to get to a new place in a time of great uncertainty and confusion. They don’t want to pick up their crosses. They long for the familiar.” (Todd Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains)
God’s church (that being those led to saving faith) is His instrument of carrying out His redemptive mission to save the world through His Son, our Savior, Christ Jesus. And, for us to carry out that mission – God has to mess with us to disrupt the normal. It’s how God turns the soil to prep it for new growth.

My daughter’s friend has a 3D printer. He then gave her a Christmas tree ornament that is a dumpster on fire emblazoned with 2020. New to me – “dumpster fire” is a new word in our dictionaries defined as “disaster.” It is not a surprise to any of us that 2020 was a dumpster fire in our lives. Plans were cancelled. Jobs and/or businesses were lost. Lifestyles were hampered as pandemic fatigue gave way to pandemic frustration. And worse of all – people died. Perhaps someone you know. The Lord be with you in your sorrow. COVID-19 seared its mark upon 2020.
We do not manage change well (serious or otherwise). At first, we lose heart and waste away when worldly security fades. Mourning our loss; God comes to our rescue. We are drawn back to rest upon the eternal security of His Word and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul encourages – God is present to renew us day by day. His grace and mercy comes to us again new and fresh.
God raises our eyes to view that eternal glory that outweighs all of our temporal struggles. With that renewed faith there is hope. There is peace. There is joy. And, there is our Savior, fulfilling the promise to be with us always to the very end of the age.
Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen. •
— By Pastor Neil Stern
St. Peter’s, Leduc AB