Discovering Balance, Peace, & Worship in a Post-Pandemic World

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been paying way more attention to what’s flying up in the sky lately. I’m not sure if I’m expecting to see Chinese weather balloons, alien spacships, or twinkling stars.

During these times of great apprehension, doubt, and uncertainty, we are all likely living a little bit more on edge, anticipating some newfangled form of disruption to dismantle an otherwise beautiful day.

What comes after a pandemic, I wonder? An alien invasion certainly can’t be taken off the table, albeit challenging to reconcile theologically. Strange things are happening in this wondrous age of technological innovation.

I actually heard the words “Tik-Tok” in church the other day. A couple of elderly church ladies were discussing the latest videos they’d seen. “I’ll be,” I mumbled to myself.

Staying balanced in our off-kilter world is challenging. It seems like everyone everywhere is questioning things we long considered facts. Questioning is good if we are questioning the right things. But, too often, we fail to ask good questions, let alone the right ones. Extremes and unhealthy obsession have never resulted in good outcomes. That’s a truth known by most folks since the most ancient of days. Balance helps us keep our sanity in a world increasingly gone mad.

Being out in the country loosens my mental blocks and aids in letting my creative juices flow. The recent inclement weather service events made it difficult to find the word to put together for a post. So much information flooded my brain. I’ve found it challenging to settle on a topic. Creativity is funny that way. It’s not a matter of simply turning on a faucet and letting creativity flow. However, drawing one hundred hands evidently helped release the weight blocking my right brain.

Creativity not only helps me stay balanced but it brings me peace. In turn, I believe it allows me to be a vessel of peace. Our world can surely use as many doses of peace as we can collectively muster. Scripture makes it clear that as far as we are concerned we should strive to be agents of peace.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Romans 12:18 [English Standard Version]

For me, balance, creativity, and peace all result in genuine worship. The psalms I’ve been writing are about paying homage to a God who is gracious and merciful beyond measure. The desire to draw lives in my quest to worship God more deeply, because it is through creative expression that I truly worship the Lord.

My friend, what say you?

How are you able to find balance in our whacked-out world? Are you able to serve as a harbinger of peace in your daily activities? What creative practices do you pursue that help you worship God more fully?

As you begin your new week, I pray you encounter God on a deeper level than ever before and that He showers you with great blessings.

Ultimately, as a believer, I know that Jesus is my cornerstone. Regardless of the uncertainty plummeting through the Universe, I know I can trust in Jesus.

Go in peace,

Rainer Bantau
The Devotional Guy™