It would be easy to—and surely many people will—look back on this year and enumerate the many negative things that took place. Endless content could be produced about the failures of our government and politicians, our churches, small businesses, and even ourselves. 2020 was the year that nothing short of totalitarianism was instituted in the United States. That’s something remarkable and worth noting.
However, The Death of Death has always been geared toward the positive side of things. Christ’s victory over sin, death, and everything else. That includes the worst that 2020 could possibly throw at us, and even the unthought possibilities from which God spared us (if you can even imagine such things).
If we are to believe that everything works for the good of those who love God, and everything (no matter how unpleasant) serves to further his kingdom, how does that change how we look back at this year?
There is no end to the poorly-aged posts about how 2020 was going to be the best year ever. One particular post I recall from 2019 said Halloween would be a Saturday, New Years and Christmas would both be on Friday, Friday the 13th would occur twice, July 4th would fall on a Saturday, and Cinco de Mayo would land on Taco Tuesday. What a year that would have been. It never would have entered someone’s mind that the government would step in and cancel it all.
The reality is that we went through a year of testing and pruning. It wasn’t pleasant, and it wasn’t comfortable. It never is. We see in the book of Acts that the largest awakenings immediately follow the harshest persecutions of the early church.
Want to hear something really pessimistic? There is absolutely no reason to think 2021 will be better than 2020. The things we hated about this year have no end in sight. How can we still be positive about it? Be thankful, and don’t waste this opportunity. Know that God is pruning his church and testing his people, and walk in the confidence that all things work toward the good of those who love him. Be thankful for the things that build the character of his people, and conform us to the image of Christ. Look forward to what God is doing through all of this. He didn’t call in sick this year. He may have felt distant, but he was not. In his providence he was active, even if it hurt. Read through your Bible and see the things to which God subjected his people through wicked rulers, and be thankful that you only had to suffer 2020. Rejoice that you are counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name (Acts 5:41).
I’m sorry if you clicked on this looking for hope that life would soon return to normal. Instead, let us seek God’s purpose, and allow these trials to mold us into who he wants us to be, for his glory.
Amen, and happy New Year!