The year 2020 has been the year of quarantine, Coronavirus, and confusion because this is the first pandemic we have seen in our lifetime. As I was praying before bed the other night, God revealed how people around my age were handling quarantine.

He was quick to show me the very app I look at the most as a mirror to what other girls are feeling and seeking every day. As I thought back to my frustration of my Tik Tok being filled with girls trying to lose weight instead of the funny one's I wanted, He spoke, "Don't you see, they are already seeking the approval of others after quarantine rather than coming to me one day at a time".

And I knew exactly what He meant: the self-tanner, extensive exercising and even creating drinks for weight loss. I felt the weight of how our Father must feel to see His children using their time of rest and peace trying to fill a gap that only He can fill. God has given us a time of rest to release the idols in our life: work, school, social gratification, social media approval and more. However, we have kept one idol at the top of our list: ourselves.

In a time when everything was taken away we are still focused on how we can receive the approval of others when quarantine is over. It does't matter what we do now, we just have to come out of quarantine prettier, skinner, tanner and everything else that makes us feel like we are worthy.

This is what I saw and realized that our generation was doing because we seek value in how we see ourselves and how other people see us. So in everything you do, ask yourself: Why am I doing this?

Go deeper than the surface of just wanting to and you just might see that the desire of your heart is to elevate yourself and receive approval from others. Satan is really good at telling us to keep our motives and our struggles in the dark because he knows that God brings relief and freedom when we speak things into the light.

So maybe that means telling God or a friend what you are really feeling and speaking it out loud.

Are you desperate for approval? Say it.

Are you making yourself and idol? Say it.

Do you miss school and work because those things were your identity? Call it out.

There is no shame in the truth, but it will never get better until you bring it into the light of God. Once you identify these things in your life, it's a whole lot easier to identify the one thing you will never have to chase after: God's love for you. Not only does he approve of you, he delights in you.

All of these things bring us to today: Good Friday. On this day about 2000 years ago, your eternal life and freedom were bought at the highest price. Your King and brother in Christ, Jesus, was tortured to death for you and I to receive the best gifts we could ever ask for.

What Jesus did on the cross gave us the power of the Holy Spirit, access to the presence of God, forgiveness of our sin, a relationship with the greatest Father we could ever ask for, and so much more (Mark 15:38-39). Jesus had your face in mind when he died on the cross because he saw that your eternal life was worth more than any amount of pain.

He sees through the fake tan and the strife for perfection, and he sees straight into what your heart really needs: Him.

So, now that we know we are all searching for more and are walking around desperate for approval, maybe we can change what we are doing during quarantine.

God cares more about our daily submission to Him than what we plan to do after quarantine because He's reaching out to us today. Each morning when you wake up God is looking at you with a smile on His face and His hand reaching out for the day that you will accept His invitation. Even if you are alone during quarantine, God wants every single day of your life to be a party of four: The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit and you.

So go, and accept His invitation and rest because the search is over.