When I was asked to write something once more on getting through the difficulties of COVID restrictions, I’ll admit that a small part of me just wanted to rehash my old draft. After all, we’re in the 5th wave. It’s just the same old same old again, right?

I felt this feeling for about 5 seconds before a new thought suddenly dawned on me… what if that’s the danger? What if we’ve become so desensitised to this “new normal” that we are slowly becoming complacent and losing our spiritual disciplines during these strange times? Perseverance and slowly enduring sustained difficulties can be just as hard (if not more so) than a short burst of something more temporary.

So, with that in mind, here are my top 3 tips to maintain healthy and intentional Christian habits during this time for not just survival, but also serious character building.

1. Perspective
Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture and remind yourself of important truths by spending ample time in God’s word. Spend time every day in the Bible, even if it’s just 15 mins thinking about a short passage. There are so many devotionals and reading plans out there, so make good use of the resources at your disposal.

2. Prayer
Hearing God speak through his word is amazing, and it’s only right to respond to him through prayer. Challenge yourself to not just go to him with your requests. It’s also great to give him thanks and praise for the kindness he’s shown in your life and the good gifts he’s blessed you with (it can be easy to overlook these or take them for granted!)

3. People
Christians are not meant to do life alone and fellowship with the community is extremely vital to maintaining good spiritual health. We are relational beings, so don’t let physical restrictions isolate you relationally with the wider church family. Stay connected through engaging in our online services and your Zoom growth group meetings. Don’t neglect to meet up with individuals to catch up and share your struggles with one another for encouragement.

If you’re serious about maintaining good spiritual disciplines, this could actually be an amazing time of immense growth!

There’s a quote by C.S. Lewis that I find quite fitting to end this piece. He said, “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world”.

Whatever personal trials you are facing right now, I pray that you will cling to God during this difficult season, and that ultimately this would prove to be a time of blessed growth and refinement when it comes to the things that matter most in light of eternity.