Life Through an Eternal Prism
Wow! 2020 - What a year! A year which started out with a much hope ended in despair. Trial after trial, struggle after struggle, doubt after despair - sound familiar? Story booked weddings? A thing of the past. Even funerals - changed forever. Savings wiped out. Birthday celebrations cancelled. Church? Completely different.
However, amidst all of the turmoil and strife, God was (and is) still on His throne. He reigns powerfully and majestically. God stands outside of time. There is no numerical combination (2-0-2-0) that can thwart Him. He oversaw every disappointment, every hurt, and every pain. He is God. We are not. We must remember that.
Today, I offer hope. Ever since Genesis 1:1 (“In the beginning”), God has committed to walk with His creation from beginning to end. He will never leave or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) Joshua reminds us if we do our part, He will “make your way prosperous” and give us “good success.” Before we begin pointing fingers and yelling, “God, has 2020 been prosperous? No one has had success in 2020! That must be a lie!” Nope. When anyone reacts in this manner, instantly we realize that their understanding of “prosperity” is different from the bibles. Take for example, Job. In his many losses (family killed, fortune ruined, health destroyed), He lost all proof of “prosperity.” Still, yet, he refused to turn away from the Lord. Of course, he had questions - any person would. I would argue his true blessing came in his downtimes, not in his riches. We see him strengthen, not by his new fortune, but by his greater walk with the Lord. We are privy to the same opportunity for a changed outlook as Job.
Fast forward to Joshua. We see, right off at the start of his ministry blessing (Joshua 1:8-9) centered, not on his bank account, but on his medication on the “Book of the Law.” He was blessed (and rich) based on his relationship with God not his reckoning with man. Isaiah, saw “blessings” in the same manner. God encourages, “Behold, I will do a new thing.” Huh? A “new” thing? Yes, a very new thing.
As long as we trust fully in Him, He has volunteered to direct our paths. I know what you’re thinking, “Well, he didn’t direct my paths in 2020. Why should I start believing it now?” Maybe - just maybe - He did. He “directed” your attention off of the toys of this world, and onto a different plane - a spiritual plane onto an eternal outlook. If we, as Believers, do truly believe Proverbs 3:5-6, (and not just be able to quote it back) then we will see tragedy and downturns in an entirely different light.
Paul reminds us of our former life before Christ and then refreshes our “old” thinking. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul informs the believer that we are new creatures, a “new creation” as he put it. The old, former things are history. Walk in the newness of Christ. Leave it behind. Cut bait. FIDO (Forget it and Drive on).
He visits this subject again in Philippians 2:16. He concludes this brief passage by encouraging the church, “holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” How do we hold fast to the word of life? Paul answers our question in 3:14, he writes, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Despite life’s up and downs, Paul holds fast to Scripture, rejoices, and presses on towards an eternal goal.
I plead today for a different outlook and a different perspective. From one that is naturally geared to the present, to one with an eternal bend. By filtering all of life through an eternal prism, naturally we do not get too caught up in the “here and now.”
As we enter into 2021, I will pray three specific prayers. First, I pray protection - protection upon you, your family, and your friends. Not just physical protection, I will pray also spiritual and emotional protection. Second, I will pray a prayer of provision. Believe God will truly supply all of your needs. Third, I will pray a prayer of proaction upon you and your family. As was Jesus’ heart, to go out and proactively “seek and to save that which is lost.” (Luke 19:10) It may take a leap of faith, but thank God for what He is about to do in 2021. I do not know…you do not know…only God knows. Be encouraged! Be excited! Be expectant! Let’s let God be God in 2021. Let it go and leave it to Him.