If asked to describe the last couple of years with one word, “uncertainty” would be an appropriate candidate. The initial “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order issued in March 2020 was for just a few weeks. Weeks stretched into months. Autumn arrived, and plans to return to the classroom were halted as COVID-19 cases were still climbing. Offices remained quiet as workers continued to stay home to do their jobs.

A year ago, hope began to rise as the vaccine rollout began. Routines were gradually being restored, churches and schools and universities announced reopening plans, air travel began to pick up, many companies began to ask employees to return to the office, Disneyland unlocked its gates again, and restaurants welcomed more indoor diners. Then, the Delta variant hit, reportedly twice as contagious as the original virus. Breakout infections were in the news, leading to questions as to how long immunity lasts. Boosters became available. Then Omicron snuck in, apparently the most transmissible version yet. As of this writing, some school districts have already pivoted back to virtual learning, and many have announced contingency plans as a last resort.

The indeterminate nature of the pandemic highlights how, on this earth, we must rely on what is rock solid . As Jesus taught in Matthew 7 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25)

In order to do the Words of the Lord, we must first know what those words are. The beginning of a new year is an opportune time to set a goal to read through the Holy Scriptures, even if you’ve already completed both testaments before. Nourishment is needed daily! By reading two chapters a day, you will finish within two years. Read four, and you’ll finish in one.

“The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.” -Isaiah 40:7-8