Spiritual Formation

As this year draws to a close, I realize I’ve too often been white-knuckling my way through it, just trying to hold on, keeping my grip for just a little longer. And that’s just not healthy.

Sometimes it feels like we live in the Matrix. These days, what’s real or simulated blurs into confusion. We’re Zoom Zombies submerged in social media, navigating the news as we confront new constrictions.

School just started and it’s not what you’ve ever imagined college to be like. Instead of moving into the dorms, you’re stuck at home. Instead of all the welcome events with free food at the beginning of the year, you’re attending one Zoom call after another. It’s easy to focus on all the things we’re missing out on this season.

If you’re like me, you may be struggling with FOMO, worry, and complaints.

While it's important to acknowledge what's hard and mourn what we've lost, it's equally if not more important to recognize the gift of the pandemic as the new school year begins. Perhaps there are unprecedented opportunities God has for us during this unique season.

For me, what’s often most unexpected—and rewarding—is that moment when I’m just passively watching a movie when BOOM! God enters the picture.

“When was the last time you prayed for your community? For your church? For your city? Are the only prayers you offer up to the Lord ones where you ask him to work in your own life?”

You may feel like you’ve been given two choices: become a person who only creates “Christian art” or someone who yields to the world’s pressures to create “secular” art as a Christian. What’s a Christian to do?

In March 2020, I found myself living out the book of Lamentations. I watched firsthand as the City That Never Sleeps became the city with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country.

Even though Jesus felt more distant, the truth is that he isn’t an inch further from me or you than when this pandemic broke out.

God’s invites us to not only join him in the suffering around us; he is also inviting us to explore our own personal disappointments and losses on a deeper level. This difficult time can be an opportunity to cultivate newness.

I haven’t felt like praying lately. Of all times you’d think I’d want to pray more, it’d be right now—alone in my one-bedroom apartment in a foreign country during a global pandemic.