Back in December 2019, I wrote a blog entitled “What Really Matters?” I wanted to ask that question for a number of reasons but mainly because I knew 2020 would be a tumultuous year in this country. Lack of employee engagement in the workplace, generational differences, mental health issues, the rising number of teen suicides and political upheaval in a Presidential election year were just some of the issues on our minds at the time. I actually used that same title, “What Really Matters?” for a speaking engagement I did at a local Rotary Club Meeting in January where I asked the members in attendance to really ponder the question. Little did I know that less than 3 months later our world would be turned upside down by something called COVID-19. So let me ask the question again only this time adding one simple word….What Really Matters NOW?
For many of us, how we might answer that question now (March 21, 2020) is significantly different from how we might have answered it just 90 days ago which brings up another question…Why should our answer be any different today than it was then?
You see, at the end of that blog I wrote back in 2019, I made the point of how very precious life is and how what each of us does with our life matters to God as it directly impacts His world. And yes, I even wrote in the blog that I am of the belief that this isn’t our world but God’s world and that we are NOT the ones in control. Could that be any more apparent today than it is with what we are dealing with?
So let me offer an answer to the question….What Really Matters NOW? Plain and simple – FAITH. Yes, as we face the unknown today, tomorrow, every day, whether we are living with COVID-19 or just the many other challenges that are part of our lives, should anything be more important in our life than our FAITH in God, His almighty presence and His son Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins? In simplest terms, God speaks to the importance of our FAITH in one verse that is all of eight words…..
For we walk by faith, not by sight
2 Corinthians 5:7
Right now, while we might want concrete answers about COVID-19, where this is all heading and how our lives are going to be changed; no one has those answers for us but our Creator. Yes, this is God’s world and we are NOT the ones in control. Instead, we need to be walking in FAITH with the understanding that God has a plan for each of us in all of this. It is in times like this that each of us needs to be praying with the understanding that God’s Will is what really matters in all of this. That kind of FAITH is what will calm our fears and bring us peace. Fear ends where FAITH begins.
With that in mind, let’s begin and end every day in prayer, thankful for what God has given us and mindful that He loves us. Let’s love our neighbors as we love ourselves and while adhering to the “social distancing” guidelines, recognize that being apart can in a very strange way bring us even closer to one another. And last, whether you believe it or not, yes, accept the fact that you are a loved child of God. That, my friends, will always be What Really Matters!
And all God’s people said, “AMEN.”
