One common result of this pandemic that we are living through, aside from the obvious loss of life, infections, sickness, loss of jobs, income, etc., is that it's messing with our concept of time. Very often, I found myself wondering what day is it, what's today's date? Because for so many of us, it seems like the days just blur together; Wednesdays are Mondays and Tuesdays are Sundays.  There's no clear weekdays or weekends. Our internal clocks are shot because of the changes we've experienced with the removal of social anchors that helped our bodies and minds keep track and stay up to date. As a result, we lose track of time, it becomes more challenging to concentrate or complete tasks.

 

And although we may be wrestling with keeping up with what day or date it is we cannot afford to lose sight of what's next once this crisis/pandemic is over. Because history shows us that some great things happened after some grueling times of difficulty. So we ought to start thinking about what's next. Where do we go from here?

 

Here in our text, we find Joshua and the Israelites encountering a shift in their way of life. They are coming out of the wilderness and into a new way of living.  This new way of living is prefaced with a message from God.  We find that God is speaking to Joshua about the new way of life.  And while we are caught in the crucible of this current crisis/pandemic, we too ought to tune in to God during these unprecedented times. so we can understand what's next in our own lives.