Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield. (Joel 2:22 ESV)
The snowstorm was brutal. Howling wind and blowing snow. Bitter sub-zero temperatures. Winter’s worst. When I was outside, it was all I could see. When I was inside, it was all I could hear. And wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, ALL I could think about was that storm.
But on the phone, talking to friends on the other side of the country, the storm was not so real. It was certainly real to me, of course. But on a national level, or even a regional level… it was not so big or bad or scary. In the midst of the storm, normal things still went on. And the next day, of course…. That storm was gone.
The news and social media have been trying to fool us. When we watch too much, or listen too much, we get the idea that nothing in the nation or world is normal anymore. All we see is the virus. All we hear is the economy. All we think about is government overreach.
Those things ARE real. They deserve some attention. They clamor for attention. We need to react carefully, thoughtfully, and realistically.
But those terrible things are not everything. More normal things are happening than abnormal things.
God tells the animals to be at peace because no matter how wild their life is, normalcy is also present. Though they live in a world of tooth and claw, the grass and trees and vines plod along in vibrant normalcy.
We can note the same thing. Even when a riot formed up the road, we still had electricity. Even when testing results indicate an increase in C-19 cases, our hearts beat. Even when craziness fills in the cracks of every news story, our neighbors wave at us, kittens get rescued from trees, the sun rises and sets, and the rain and sun work together to give us wheat, corn, tomatoes, and melons.
And those normal things are the setting for God’s blessings. Those normal things ARE the blessings that God showers on His people. Those normal things are just as important as the shocking scary things.
God gives us peaceful, regular, normal things. Notice them with gratitude.
Fear not, because of normalcy.