With less than two weeks to go before 2020 is consigned to the history books, be honest: are you where you thought you would be?
If you had told me in January that there would be half as many people sitting in the church building, I would have wondered what could possibly go so wrong. One of the first questions people usually ask a preacher upon learning his occupation is, “How big is your church?” He usually replies with the Sunday morning attendance. (If we are being completely honest, it’s probably that year’s largest attendance figure – preachers can be prideful creatures, too.) Yet, that doesn’t quite capture it for 2020, does it? The fact that any number of people is safely meeting at the church building is a success story. Then how do you count the church’s new “media ministry”? Streaming is now an essential part of 2020 church; before, it only involved fish, Netflix, or a discussion with your doctor.
Everyone has experienced their lives being completely upended. Business, politics, healthcare, education, entertainment…even youth sports! No area of our lives made it through 2020 without disruption – not to mention all the people whose breathing still isn’t back to normal, who lost a loved one they still haven’t been able to memorialize, or who exchanged their vows in front of empty pews and an iPhone. No one is where they thought they would be.
Yet, in the pain, loss, and missed opportunities of 2020, God is still good. As He delivered a message to a future generation of exiles in Isaiah 43:18-19, God said, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” We can so easily get stuck on mourning the miseries or just rushing the year out the door. Yet even in the wilderness of 2020, God is still working. He supplied living water when all around was desert and despair. He made a way forward.
Do we perceive it? If we believe God is who He says He is, then even in 2020, God has been up to something awesome. It may look different than the way things were before, but there are still lessons He has taught, experiences He has given, and love He has poured into us. If we try to see that, it will change how we see this year and may even get us excited for where He takes us next.
Join us on Sunday 12/20 as we hear God say, “Behold, I am Doing a New Thing”.