I think we can all say that 2020 was a year of uncertainty. The year started out with many hopes and plans that would
abruptly come to an end by the time we reached March. the Covid pandemic disrupted all of our live in so many ways. I remember mid-March during a Wednesday night service addressing the congregation about the rising concerns of Covid starting to spread throughout the country and how serious it was. It would be two days later that we made the decision to stop in-person services.
Most pastors in Colorado and around the nation followed, and the fellowship of believers stopped. Many lost their their jobs, schools closed, restaurants shut down. We had no idea how this would impact all of our lives. Weddings were cancelled as well as vacations. People couldn't see their loved ones in nursing homes or when they were in the hospital. This was one event that impacted all of us in different ways and in different degrees.
As the year moved into summer we witnessed civil unrest and fires burning. Many days were marked with dark clouds of smoke over our cities in northern Colorado, dropping ash day after day, week after week. We saw saw over a half of millions acres burn the very places we love to camp, hike, and fish, as well as hundreds of homes that were lost. The summer led to fall with the pandemic still surging and an election that was extremely heated and divisive. To say the least, the previous year brought uncertainty to all of us.
Now, as we have entered into a new year, the uncertainty continues with the pandemic and our nation seeing the events that tragically unfolded at our nation's capital. Many people that I have talked with are discouraged or feeling hopeless. Many are afraid and and are anxious about the days ahead.
I want to remind us that there is certainty in these uncertain times. We have the truth of God's Word that is certain. We have the certainty that He is still on the throne. We can be assured of every promise He gives to us. We know that there will be a glorious plan of God that will unfold, called the "Blessed Hope," when He will take us home to be with Him. More than ever, we as believers need to keep our eyes on the Lord and be established in His Word.
David wrote in Psalm 19:7 "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting (restoring) the soul." In Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." God's Word is the truth that that will give us comfort, wisdom, and encouragement. It is in that close fellowship with Jesus with we will discover, as David did, that "In Your presence is fullness of joy." Jesus Himself said in John 15 to abide in Him and His Word and our joy will be full.
We know that the Bible tells us that the last days will be perilous time and uncertain times. Jesus said men's hearts will fail them because of fear ( Luke 21:26). We as believers don't have to be gripped with fear. We don't have to be full of anxiety because of the difficult days we are experiencing. We need to be praying and watching. We must continue in the scriptures and be discerning of the days we are in. We don't have to be troubled in heart or shaken in mind. My prayer for you in this new year is that God's peace will rule in your heart, that you will be established in His love, and will know that our certainty is in Jesus in these uncertain times.