This post might seem a little extreme or a bit out there, but bear with me as I try to make a general point. There is also some practical application for all of us.
We all get lulled to sleep in our daily lives. We get up and enact weekday routines and weekend hobbies. We assume that things won’t change. As a result, we are basically unprepared when the norm is disrupted. We don’t know how to respond when God allows a major curveball to be thrown at us and we end up looking a bit like this cat. This is sometimes called normalcy bias.
Here are some basic ways that our current reality can be shattered:
- An internal crisis such as suddenly finding a lump that turns out to be cancer. A husband reveals an affair and trust is lost forever. A teenage daughter gets pregnant by her boyfriend who loses interest.
- An external factor such as a car accident that causes paralysis. A job loss in the midst of a new baby and mounting debt. Becoming a victim of a crime that carries long-term emotional damage.
- Worse still, it could be a more widespread problem that changes life as we know it. A massive terrorist attack, perhaps nuclear. A power grid failure. A natural disaster. Or even multiple events occurring like falling dominoes on an unprecedented scale.
Christian or not, what makes us Americans think we are entitled to an easy life? What makes us think our country will not see war, famine, and/or pestilence in our lifetime? Why can’t we snap out of it?!
Here are some more questions. If you are an atheist, to what or whom do you turn when it hits the fan? Where is your hope when your legs are taken out from under you? What do you have to look forward to? What’s the point if there is no point to life—especially when life gets hard?
If you are a Christian, do you think you are entitled to good health, wealth, and material prosperity? Is real life-and-death persecution something that will only ever happen overseas? Are you convinced that you’re going to be raptured out before anything bad happens to your family or our country? What makes you think America doesn’t go down the tubes years before Jesus returns?
Believe it or not, my point in this post is not to scare you, but to jolt you out of normalcy bias. The only way I have found to fight this condition is through daily time with God. Christians often refer to this as a “quiet time,” a time to read the Bible, contemplate what it says, pray to God, and listen for guidance from His Holy Spirit.
Only by constantly staying in touch with the Lord can we have (1) a proper perspective on life and (2) be prepared for whatever curveball may be thrown at us personally or corporately. Life could still be very hard after a personal or widespread disaster, but our walk with the Lord will somehow guide us through. Until then, may we all be found faithful and in a state of spiritual readiness.