Annually, I ask God to give me a word or a phrase I can hold to through the year that prepares me to make the most of what comes.
The two words that come to mind now aren’t entirely new; I’ve been thinking about them for a few months already; they are intimacy and urgency.
I’m not sure how 2021 will be different from 2020, but if 2020 taught us anything, it is to roll with the unexpected. Fortunately, as Psalm 46 reminds us, God is an ever-present help in times of trouble. Even if the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake, God is our refuge and strength. There certainly was plenty of shaking in 2020!
I found God present and faithful. His Word is true.
Now, what about 2021?
Intimacy: God is available to those who seek Him. He is attracted to humility. When I make time for God, in the pre-dawn hours, He seems especially near. When the distractions are minimal, I hear clearly. With clarity, faith increases.
Do we need trouble to drive us to our knees? Surely not!
In 2021, I commit to consistent time with God. I can go to him anytime, in praise with thanksgiving, knowing intimacy is the outcome of prioritizing a relationship.
Urgency: These are turbulent times. I don’t need to rehash 2020 to remember that what was normal will never return. The disruption of the seismic challenges we experienced is like the settling that takes place after an earthquake. The aftershocks keep rippling.
When history hangs in the balance, the courageous ones write the story. While many hunker down to ride out the storm, others seize the opportunity that hides in the disruption.
What is it that God is saying to us? If He is pruning, what must remain and what needs to go?
What a loss to go through all of this and not learn more than binge-watching Netflix is now a thing.
If we don’t yet know the answers, let’s at least ask the right questions. How should I be re-formed as a follower of Jesus, and how should His Church be different? What can my family learn? In what ways can Love KC pivot and grow?
In 2021, we don’t have the luxury of taking a decade to see how things shake out. Urgency demands we be like the men of Issachar in the scripture, “who knew their times and knew what to do.” May the same be said of me, Lord.
Here comes 2021! With two words, intimacy and urgency, and God’s help; I’m focused and ready.