What Does Your COVID-19 Dashboard Reveal?

How do you handle loss?

Almost every one of us has experienced loss of one kind or another as a result of this global pandemic. Some have lost jobs, or expect to soon. Athletes have lost seasons. Investors have lost big money. Long awaited vacations have been cancelled. Seniors will miss their graduation celebrations. Weddings have been postponed. Older or physically compromised people have sacrificed the physical presence of their loved ones. Thousands have lost their lives, or have lost a loved one.

As we cope with the enormity of this loss, have we given ourselves permission to grieve?

“This is a stillness, not of rest, but of poised, anxious sorrow.”

N.T. Wright

Does a “poised, anxious sorrow” weigh heavy on your heart?

Perhaps you’re experiencing one of the five stages of grief…
Denial • Anger • Bargaining • Depression • Acceptance

Maybe your heart connects with David’s words in Psalm 22:14-
“My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me.”

As you stare down the grief you’re facing, understand this. Our ability to work through the current losses we’re feeling is connected to the condition of our heart before this crisis began, and how we care for our heart moving forward.

What does the dashboard of your life reveal today?

On the dashboard of a typical car, you will find these four gauges: temperature, fuel, tachometer, and speedometer. A good driver keeps an eye on each of these gauges while they are driving to make sure their car is operating optimally.

For a moment, let’s compare these four gauges to the dashboard of our life.

• The Temperature Gauge measures our Emotional Health. Are we running hot emotionally, ready to explode? Is our emotional battery drained?
• The Fuel Gauge measures our Spiritual Health. Are we regularly refilling our tank, or are we running on spiritual fumes?
• The Tachometer (RPM) measures our Mental Health. Does this crisis have our mind racing, unable to focus? Are we keeping our mind sharp, finely tuned?
• The Speedometer measures our Physical Health. Are we sputtering along, listless and lifeless,  struggling to keep up physically?

At our Disciple-Making Conference in January, Alan Fadling, author of An Unhurried Life, challenged us to live at an unhurried pace where we experience rest and grace and peace. Unhurried, we experience the Father’s presence. Unhurried, we are renewed.

It might seem ridiculous to ask this, but can we truly live unhurried in the midst of this global pandemic? Yes, life has been disrupted. Yes, we’re supposed to shelter in place. Yes, the pace of life has probably slowed way down. But does that mean that our hearts are unhurried?  God wants us to find rest and be strengthened in Him.

“So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when He rested from all His work.”

Genesis 2:1-3 NLT

God established a rhythm for rest. One day out of seven. Rest. God didn’t do this because He needed rest. He did it because He knew that we needed rest. He is rest, and we’ve been created in His image, so we’ve been hard-wired by God to function best when we rest.

In fact, God took this a step further. Every seventh year, Israel was supposed to let their land rest. They could not work the fields. They had to trust that God would provide double the harvest in the sixth year, as He had promised. Then, after seven periods of seven years, on the fiftieth year, Israel was to celebrate a year of Jubilee. Slaves would be freed.  Debts would be cancelled. It was a time for a fresh start.

We as North Americans don’t rest well.

We’re busy. We like being busy. We pride ourselves on being busy. This COVID-19 shutdown has ruined our plans, and we’re grieving those losses. But this is also a chance to hit the reset button on how we do life, prioritize relationships, and take care of our bodies and our souls.

Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’”

Mark 12:29-30 NLT

We’re commanded to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we’re unhealthy emotionally, spiritually, mentally, or physically, our ability to love God fully and respond to life’s challenges is compromised.

What do your life gauges reveal about the health of your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Here are four suggestions for a healthier life dashboard during this COVID-19 crisis:

1. HEART RHYTHMS

Coming into 2020, my emotional energy was at about ¼ tank. Almost a year ago, our seventeen year old was diagnosed with a brain tumor. On Memorial Day, the pediatric neurosurgeon removed the tumor, and the biopsy revealed it was cancer. A long summer stretched into the fall with daily radiation treatments. Having a child with cancer has taken a heavy toll on me emotionally. Maybe the COVID-19 crisis we’re facing has taken a toll on you emotionally and you feel like you’re operating at ¼ tank. What recharges your emotional battery? During a crisis like this, watching the news can be addicting, but also depressing. One thing you can do to lift your spirit is to turn off A-B-C, N-B-C, C-B-S, C-N-N, and F-O-X and turn to G-O-D in prayer. Express your anger,  fears and frustrations. Allow yourself to cry with God. Be honest with Him. Worship is a great way to recharge your emotional batteries.  John Eldredge’s Pause App is a great tool for guided prayer and praise.

GET PRAISING!

2. SOUL RHYTHMS

Just over four years ago, one of my mentors, Jeff Wells, invited me to trade texts every day with what God was teaching each of  us in His Word. That daily text has become my format for digital journaling, and I now have multiple text groups that I share my daily journal with. Before that, I read God’s Word regularly and journaled occasionally. Since then, though, the accountability of sharing my journal with others has created a consistent rhythm of reading and reflection that has profoundly affected my walk with God. For the next 30 days, let me challenge you to do what I’ve done with Jeff for four years now and share with someone what God taught you in His Word that day. For encouragement, take the time this week to listen to Jeff Wells’ podcast on intimacy with God.

GET JOURNALING!

3. MIND RHYTHMS

The disruption of life as we know it gives us the opportunity to explore and learn in ways we might not have otherwise considered. With my wife “furloughed” from her job as a dental hygienist until the middle of May and my oldest daughter a recent college graduate forced to work from her house in South Florida, they decided to go back to school together. They’re taking a free online course from Yale, Introduction to Classical Music, and are loving it! As a ministry leader, why not join me in a deeper dive, studying Jesus in some new and fresh ways between Easter and Pentecost. Sonlife’s Harmony Study is a great resource for studying the chronology of Christ’s life and ministry. A simple, well-written biography of the life of Christ like John Pollack’s The Master: A Life of Jesus will enliven your imagination with the vibrancy of our Savior.

GET EXPLORING!

4. STRENGTH RHYTHMS

For years, I had run almost every day. Then I got out of the habit. I missed it. My daily routine of a 30 minute run where I would think and pray was life-giving. Back in February, I decided there would be no more excuses. I began to run again, and I already notice a difference. I have more energy, and the 30 minutes of alone time with God while I’m on the trail is truly life-giving. I’m better emotionally, spiritually, and mentally when I take care of myself physically. Like me, why don’t you allow this unhurried season to be a time where you establish healthy habits in the regular rhythm of your life. Drink lots of water. Take a walk. Ride a bike. Go for a run.

GET MOVING!

Minding your life’s dashboard during this COVID-19 crisis will not only help you get through this crisis, it could also establish healthy “unhurried living” rhythms that turn this season of unprecedented challenge into a year of unparalleled growth.