2021 - Now What?

 

Dear Diary,

Happy New Year! Sorry for my tardiness! Wow, what a year 2020 was. I did not expect that at all, did you? That isn’t even a question - sorry for asking. The world was hit with a number of things last year one of them being the pandemic. It was unexpected and many people lost their loved ones - my condolences go out to them. Even though we had to go through all of that, I must say, some good actually came out of it.

The pandemic gave birth to a fantastic bible study group I am a part of. We have members from different countries praying, fellowshipping, and studying the word of the Lord every week from Monday to Friday. Such a blessing! For each of us, the pandemic may have given birth to something good or something bad, it all depends on the angle from which you are looking at it.

It’s now 2021 and we are still affected by the pandemic. I know many people were hoping that it would be gone by now. People postponed vacations, weddings, and a lot of other things in the hope that this year we would be “free at last, free at last” but it is not so. Therefore, what are you going to do? Are we going to rely on our own strength or are you going to “Seek Ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness?” I am going to continue to do the latter. While the world may be falling apart, I want to be at peace and I can only get that by resting in the comforting arms of the “Prince of Peace.”.

By the way, have you ever given thought to all that has been happening - not just the pandemic? I have and the verse that keeps coming to mind is  2 Chronicles 7:14 which states, “and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.” - AMP‬‬. Bam!! There you have it!! Let us all seek the Lord and hear what He has to say to us. As believers, children of God, we need to lead by example. God will hear us from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal the land. 

Can I take you back to biblical days? In the book of Kings, we met Manasseh who did evil in the sight of the Lord way more than all the other kings before him and the “pagan” nations whom the Lord had destroyed. He rebuilt all the idolatrous places that his father Hezekiah had torn down and he set up altars to worship false gods. He literally provoked the Lord to anger with his actions. The Lord spoke and gave signs to him and his people but they did not listen. By that point, I can only imagine how God must have felt. Stubborn much? In 2 Chronicles 33:10-16, we see where Manasseh was captured with hooks [through his nose or cheeks], bound with bronze [chains], and taken to Babylon. However, life got rough - real rough, and at this point, he was humbly seeking the Lord. God heard him and He was moved by his pleading. Therefore, He picked Manasseh up, brushed him off, and took him back to his kingdom. Manasseh saw that God is a “big deal” and everything about Him is a “big deal.” In verses 15-16 we can see how Manasseh responded after seeking God and his restoration to the kingdom in that, “He also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he threw them outside the city. 16 Then he set up the altar of the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and he ordered Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.”

With all that said, let us repent of our sins, really seek the Lord, pray continually in the spirit without ceasing, study the word of the Lord in preparation for what is ahead, let us love thy neighbors as ourselves, and let us all allow God to lead while we follow. I totally believe that in doing so, “He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal the land” and also restore us to our rightful place like He did with Manasseh.

Have an amazing rest of the year!

Love,

Christian Girl