The year 2021 is coming, and soon 2020 will be in the books.
You know as well as I that it has been a rough year. It did not pan out like we had hoped at the New Year’s party last year.
It has been full of trouble and sorrow and just not good stuff. There are many who worry that 2021 will be just as bad and just as challenging. So, what do we do?
Well folks, I for one am tired of mourning. I am tired of being afraid and I am tired of being considered non-essential.
So, as 2021 comes into full view, I am looking forward to what God is going to do in the coming year.
Yes, God is going to bring us through. Multiple times throughout the Bible, God has told us in one way or another that he will never abandon us, and he never has.
Matthew 28:20, “…and remember, I will be with you always even unto the end of the age.”
Deuteronomy 31:6, Deuteronomy 31:8, Hebrews 13:5, are just a few of the many times we are reminded that God will NEVER EVER, EVER leave or forsake us.
Let’s not approach 2021 with trepidation, but with expectation. Let’s be a people who expect to see God work.
Let’s be assured that God is with us always and will never leave, because quite frankly, we need that faith.
The church, which so often is considered non-essential, is essential to the healing of our communities and our people.
We run the risk of being broken by the cares of the world. If you want true healing in our community and our nation, then we need the essential love of Jesus Christ. Without Christ, there can be no healing.
So church, it’s time to get out of the sack cloth and ash. It’s time to stop weeping and time to start serving God again. It’s time to put on the armor and be the people God calls us to be. Not a fearful people, but a confident people, confident in the faith of Jesus Christ.
I have no idea what 2021 has to offer, but I do know that God has pulled us through 2020.
I have no idea what to expect, but I do expect God to be there in all things. I don’t know if things will get better or worse, but regardless, God will bring a blessing where the world makes a curse.
We are a people of faith, so it is time to act like it. Stop worrying and start praying. Stop watching the news and start reading the Bible. Stop succumbing to the evil one and start living in Christ. This is our call.
The future is always frightening. It is why Dickens made the ghost of Christmas future look like the grim reaper. But, we know better. God is already there, and God is never going to leave us.
God bless and happy new year
See you in church.
Rev. Kent Wilfong is the pastor at the United Methodist Church, Doniphan/Neelyville.