by Deacon James Baker

If hindsight is 20/20, what did the past year 2020 mean?  Many issues of the year 2020 have not completely passed just yet, like the pandemic and the issues it has caused; the loss of life, social distancing, mask mandates in public places. Issues still remain surrounding racial injustices, protests, riots and last year’s election. It has even affected the way we worship together at church. These are just a few things we have all experienced together.  It seems many have gone overboard or to far at making their point.

It is so easy for me to look at any one of these issues and lose hope and think things will never change. The feelings of loneliness, despair and hopelessness can rise up when looking back at 2020.  We may feel overwhelmed.

Let us not look down on ourselves or on others, now is the time to lift each other up and encourage each other.  When I hear words like these from the bible, For in my weaknesses God’s power is made perfect (cf 2 Corinthians 12:9-10), this tells me that God is my hope in all these distressful things and that this too shall pass.  The word of God encourages us through Paul that God is here with us.  He does not let things happen to us without a greater purpose.  We find God’s great power in our powerlessness.

Jesus tells us to love one another. He also tells us that the world will know you are my followers by the way you treat each other (cf. John 13:34-35).  Let this passage encourage us as we put our masks on in public places.  When we reflect on this past year let us focus on God’s blessings in our daily lives instead of the issues that overwhelm us.  Let us raise up to God the things we can never change by our own power.  Let us raise up the sick, the lonely, the mourners and those who have encountered racism.  May the Holy Spirit inspire you to look forward with hope in the coming year. Pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, a mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God