We never thought’d we’d come to this place. A time of complete solitude and silence. We have no other choice than to stay inside, stay safe, and be alone. It’s a unique season our world has never experienced. We’ve never had to completely stop everything. How can we seek God in a world that is paused and waiting for something to happen? Below are five ways to intentionally develop your relationship with God as you stay at home.

1. Instead of reaching for distractions, reach for God.

As you stay inside, it’s going to be easy to let your mind wander. During the next few weeks, we have a lot of time on our hands. What will we do with all the extra time we have? You could easily scroll Instagram for hours, binge watch a new TV show, or read more about the Coronavirus. Yet, God is asking us to seek Him in this time. When you feel tempted to numb your brain with technology, go to your Father. He is the answer in this confusing time. If you have to be quarantined, spend intentional time seeking His face through prayer, Bible reading, silence and solitude, or creativity.

Use the extra hours you have to grow in deeper intimacy with Him. Instead of filling your mind with the world, fill it with His truth through worship and abiding in Him. Start and end your day with God. Oftentimes, we immediately pick up our phone to read the latest news about this pandemic. It would change our whole mindset if we started with abiding in God before anything else in our day. “Let scripture form your perspective of the day and not your phone.” (Relevant Magazine)

2. Create with Him.

This is the prime time to develop creative skills. During this time, we could be feeling anxious, sad, lonely, happy, or fearful. Through creativity, God has given us the ability to express all we are feeling. It is a way to get our mind off of the things happening around us and instead solely focus on the art we are creating. Since God was the original Creator, He loves to see His children create. As you spend ample amounts of time inside, practice creating with our Father.

Use this space to paint something that’s been on your mind recently, write out how you’ve been doing recently and allow God to meet you there, or participate in the arts through music and worship. As you create, allow God to speak to you and remind you of who He is even as you are alone or away from friends in this time. Is there a creative hobby you’ve been wanting to try? Now is the time to start!

3. Practice Silence & Solitude.

Our world is the most silent it’s been in decades. When was there ever a time that multiple businesses weren’t open and masses of people were staying inside? This is a perfect time to practice the spiritual discipline of silence and solitude. What is silence and solitude? It’s a time to set apart with God. It is the act of getting away and sitting in silence with our Creator. It is very unnatural in our world. We are bombarded with noise and busyness every day. Yet, as we stay at home over the next few weeks let’s take time to seek God’s face in silence.

Let’s allow Him to speak in the most quiet of moments. In silence and solitude, He can bring unimaginable peace and extreme joy in the midst of this worldwide pandemic. Start with taking at least five minutes each day to sit with Him in silence. Allow your mind to become silent and let Him speak to you. Each day write down how He speaks and allow Him to form you into the child He wants you to be.

4. Spend time with the community He has surrounded you with.

It’s a great time to come together in unity. During these next few weeks, it could be easy to isolate and never talk to anyone. But, God calls us to community.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:46-47 NIV

Just as the disciples continued to meet, let’s continue to connect with one another. Choose community even if it’s hard or inconvenient. This may look like FaceTiming a friend, calling your family, or meeting a mentor in their home. Fight the natural impulse to isolate and binge watch Netflix. Lean into friendship and relationship over the next season. What does this look like for you? How can you connect with someone today? Whatever you do, remember that wherever two or three are gathered (whether that’s in person or through a phone call), God is in your midst.

5. Seek out opportunities to serve your community or those in need.

This is a hard adjustment for everyone in the world right now. However, we have to rise up as the church and bring His light to those around us. Now more than ever is the time to serve and love the people around us. Countless families are struggling to get groceries, elderly aren’t able to get their necessities at the store, and many businesses are in crisis because of the Coronavirus. However, we can be a part of making an impact in our world. We can choose to bring the good news through word and deed in this season.

Are there opportunities near you to serve? Look for ways to deliver groceries to the elderly, provide basic necessities for families in need, bring meals to those who are struggling, support small businesses, and pray for those who are in fear. As we serve those surrounding us, we begin to see God’s heart for the world. We begin to truly live out the Gospel in our everyday life as we walk out in His love and compassion. What will you do to bring God’s hope to the people around you?

Ultimately, this is a chance to press into God’s presence. Let’s become people who are chasing after Him instead of the world. Become an interceder and a worshipper as the world struggles with anxiety. What will you do to seek God’s face?