This post was originally published in the January 1st, 2020 edition of the E-Crier.
Don’t Give Up On Your New Year Resolutions?
2020 is over, 2021 is here. Have we made New Year Resolutions? We enter 2021 when the life-denying COVID 19 pandemic is at its worst. With the arrival of vaccines, I am hopeful that this year will be better. But I am also afraid that many more lives and jobs will be lost before we can declare victory.
In three weeks, we hold our Annual Meeting and usher in new leadership at a time when our financials are very bad. It is tempting to give up, but God does not give up on us. Our greatest resolution is to be faithful followers of Jesus; the man who was born and lived in hard times. His birth is an assurance that God is always around us. Isaac Watts’s hymn speaks to this assurance:
O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home.
If God is our hope for years to come, what do we make of so much suffering?
With over 340,000 deaths and hospitals stretched to capacity in many states, and 20 million Americans infected with COVID 19, how can I remain hopeful? If we asked this question to Saints, they would remind us that darkness cannot conquer light. The baby born is our hope and testament that God is our shelter in the stormy blast and our eternal home. We live in God’s future. The gospel does not absorb us from the storms of darkness but assures us of God’s all-embracing grace in hopeless situations.
I am aware that this assurance is easily missed in stormy situations. Our present concerns and fears can force us into resignation. But God promised to be with us to the end of time. God will walk with us through the COVID 19 pandemic. Yes, God’s faithfulness will make us see tomorrow!
We must not give up on our resolutions knowing too well that;
Under the shadow of your throne
your saints have dwelt secure.
Sufficient is your arm alone,
and our defense is sure.
Join us for Sunday worship at 10 AM–Rev. Norm is the Preacher.
Thanks to all those who made our Carol Service Possible. I am truly thankful.
Happy and Blessed 2021.
Rev. Kapya Kaoma