2020, A Year of Crisis
My son-in-law and I stood in the grass next to the driveway staring at this big glob of yellowish yuck. That’s the best I can do to describe it.
I stepped back and let him have a better look. “What do you think it is?” I said.
“I don’t know.” He pushed on its side with the toe of his shoe. “It’s nasty.”
“Do you think it grew there or did something… I don’t know… drop it off?”
Neither of us wanted to touch it. Whether it was a living organism, or something deposited by an animal, we didn’t want anything to do with it. We left it alone and eventually rain and time took care of it.
We have a couple more days left in 2020. If you are like me, you may be wondering exactly what we’ve experienced this year. Was 2020 planned? Did it just happen? What caused it? Why did it have to be such a tough year? What should I do about 2020?
I saw a meme on Facebook that basically said, “I’m staying up on New Year’s Eve. Not to see the New Year in, but to make sure this one leaves.”
With that in mind, I can only answer one of my previous questions. “What should I do about 2020?”
I mentioned in an earlier post that I was reading through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship. In his chapter on Grace and Discipleship, he walks through the story of the rich young ruler. You may remember he was the young man who asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life. A good question for sure.
After volleying questions and answers back and forth, Jesus eventually gets to the point. Jesus tells him to “Follow me.” I love the way Bonhoeffer puts this crisis the young man finds himself in.
“The answer to the young man’s problem is—Jesus Christ. He stands face to face with Jesus, the Son of God: it is the ultimate encounter.”1
2020, A Year of Crisis #hope #joy #writingcommunity Click To TweetHenry Blackaby tells us in his study, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God, that when God tells us what He wants to do through us, we will face a crisis of belief. A crisis of belief is a turning point where you must make a decision. How you respond at this turning point will determine whether you go on to be involved with God in something God-sized that only He can do, or whether you will continue to go your own way and miss what God has purposed in your life.2
I completed Blackaby’s study in 1999 and out of all the material, this point stuck with me the most. Every time I’m faced with a decision that requires faith in God, I think about having a crisis of belief.
So, the answer to the question, “What should I do about 2020?” is this. I trust in God. Why? Because he tells me to. Moving forward, when we can’t understand our situation, requires faith and trust.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart. And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
As we move into 2021, we know our situation is not likely to immediately turn around. The year will change, but we must move forward in our current state. We may not understand it. That’s okay. Our hope is not in our understanding, but in the LORD.
Trust in Him with all your heart. You have a chance to make a decision here at the end of 2020, what for many will be a year of crisis. What do you do?
Just as the young man stood in front of Jesus, facing the ultimate encounter. We stand before God with a choice. Choose Him.
I pray you have a great 2021, and I’ll talk with you next year!
Today’s feature photo comes from a “photo-a-day” challenge I pursued several years ago. The photo inspires the topic. For me, the posts challenge my creativity, writing discipline, and dependence on God for His message. My prayer is that you find hope in God’s Word, and that you’ll share your hope with others.
1Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: TOUCHSTONE, 1959), 76.
2Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God (Nashville: Lifeway Press, 1990), 109.
