What to Do When the World is Holding Its Breath
“We can talk ourselves into believing that we are all alone and that we may not make it until things change for the better. Or we can believe the promise that we are never alone, experience intimacy with the Creator of the Universe, and be held close to His beating heart now more than ever.”
When the final goodbyes were said to 2020 and the promise of a New Year, and new hope, were on the horizon, I started breathing normally for the first time in ten months. Like you, I crafted my 2021 ONEWORD for the year, “STILL”, expecting a quick turnaround in open gathering spaces and seeing loved ones.
My heart had been beating fast up until the end of the year in response to the rapid pace of change in the world.
But as 2021 dawned, new virus strains showed up around the world, borders began closing, and numbers of those hospitalized went up, the probability of going back to church or celebrating special events in large numbers went down.
And now we are holding our breath because it is a new, new normal. Not the old, new normal. But a new, new normal. And we don’t know what’s coming next, or how long we will have to wait for it.
You need to know what to do when the world is holding its’ breath because God never intended for you to stop breathing.
When you are in survival mode – desperate to get air – you will react to everything around you in extreme ways. If you imagine that someone is holding your head underwater, you lash out and do whatever it takes to get them off of you.
Unfortunately right now, too many of us are thrashing around and reacting to our children, spouses, co-workers and others in ways that are going to cause them harm.
Here are three ways that will not only help you keep breathing, but create a new rhythm of expectation in the days ahead.
Instead of isolating yourself, surround yourself with people, old and new – and do it virtually if you need to. Sometimes help doesn’t come in a complete rescue, but a well-timed relationship.
Instead of focusing on all the ways you feel trapped, find a new way of thinking about ways you have more freedom, not less. Do you have more time without carpooling? Do you have to worry less about what to wear?
Instead of believing that somehow someone will figure out a solution to the pandemic, start believing that Someone is with you in it. And that will make all the difference.
We can talk ourselves into believing that we are all alone and that we may not make it until things change for the better.
Or we can believe the promise that we are never alone, experience intimacy with the Creator of the Universe, and be held close to His beating heart now more than ever.
This song, “Another in the Fire”, by Hillsong United is a great reminder that when the walls are closing in and the world has stopped breathing, you can be more free to inhale and exhale than you have ever been.
*There's a grace when the heart is under fire
Another way when the walls are closing in
And when I look at the space between
Where I used to be and this reckoning
I know I will never be alone
There was another in the fire
Standing next to me
There was another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
Of how I've been set free
There is a cross that bears the burden
Where another died for me
There is another in the fire
There is another in the fire and His name in Jesus. He’s right with you. Start to breathe again. Let your heart find its’ new rhythm. Breathe in grace and breathe out fear. He is holding back the seas just for you. I believe in you.
Cathie
*Songwriters: Joel Houston / Chris Davenport
Another In The Fire lyrics © Hillsong Music Publishing Australia