You may agree with me that the year 2020 has been a very different and a strange period in history. Indeed, many other previous years have been different as well. But 2020 has been so significant in many ways. Even if the animals could talk, they can witness to this fact. The whole world came to a halt, and no one was immune to that kind of environment. Our daily routines started changing. Fear and anxiety started creeping in our hearts. Uncertainty was on the rise. No one could really interpret the cause of what was going on. It was hard to remember ‘what day it is,’ and to live our normal lives again. It seemed like the lights around the whole world were getting dimmer and dimmer each day. Even the things we thought we had control over started slipping from our hands. It seemed like all our dreams were being shuttered.
My desire for being in control of my life was greatly challenged. In fact, it left me exposed and vulnerable. I was humbled and brought to my knees before God in realizing that He is in total control of all he has made, including my life. He declares in Isaiah 55:8-9 that, ‘His thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are his ways my ways. So, his ways are higher than my ways, and his thoughts are higher than mine.’
It is a reality that it has been a difficult year for many of us in the entire world. Things were out of our control, particularly in this period of the Covid-19 pandemic. We may say that the year 2020 took its toil on us. Some would say, ‘2020 has shown us flames.’ O, what a very strange year!
However, would you say that God has been a different God in 2020? Maybe you may have had some doubts in your mind, and the following questions may have sprung up in your mind: Does God still care for all of humanity?, Why all this calamity, O God?, What have we done?, Things seem to be falling apart, why are you not doing anything O Lord?, O Lord, you seem to be so distant and indifferent to us lately. Believe you me, some of these questions did spring in my mind as well.
The thought of isolation, social distancing, change of routine and lockdown which prevented me from seeing my loved ones, let alone not hugging them and sharing meals with them and not being able to have face-to-face conversations over coffee and praying together. I couldn’t even visit my own brother at their home for 8 months because of the tight restrictions that were necessary for their own safety. I could even empathize with some of my friends who are parents; they now had to do parenting duties 24/7, including the other household duties. I struggled to cope with life in these moments, and as a result, I even went through a mild depression. Life was like a roller coaster.’ It seemed like all these changes took control of our lives. 2020 has been a year of unpredictable chaos, surprises, and confusion.
But in spite of all this, I have learned to trust in God’s sovereignty over my life on a daily basis until today. Consequently, if we are to hear from God answering these questions, we have to look at His word, the Bible, because that is how He speaks to us.
God is Sovereign Over Everything
The Bible teaches us in Psalm 24 that God is in total control of all that he has made, including us human beings. God is our Creator, our King, and he rules over everything in heaven and earth. As the song by Robert London says, ‘He’s got the whole world in his hands.’ Moreover, in Psalm 115:3, David affirms that, ‘Our God is in the heavens, he does all that he pleases.’ He is Sovereign, and nothing can happen outside his will. Thus, we can fully rely on him because God is sovereign over everything, including difficult times.
God Never Changes
Despite all of these changes and reasons for fear and anxiety, God is trustworthy. Circumstances cannot change who God is. He is unchanging God. James 1:17 affirms that God is the ‘Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.’ Again Hebrews 13:8 tells us that, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.’ Therefore, God has not been a different God even in 2020.
God keeps his Promises
All things work together for our good because God loves us as his people…Romans 8:28, and he has faithfully kept his promises and will continue to do so. God is not indifferent towards us; he loves us unconditionally, and he cares for us. In Joshua, 1:5, God says to Joshua, who became the leader of Israelites after the death of Moses, “I will be with you (as I was with my servant Moses). I will never leave you nor forsake you.” We must also take courage as God’s people that he will never abandon us no matter the circumstances. Moreover, Psalm 23 gives us confidence in knowing that God cares for his people in all circumstances, whether good things or bad things happen to us.
God met our needs in 2020
As much as it has been hard to cope with many things in 2020, God still provides means for us to live each day as it comes. He provided means for us to continue with our relationships, work, and school through technology. This may have been different for some of us in different contexts. But the fact is that God continued to meet all our needs even in the darkest times. God provided even beyond my expectations, and through that, I have learned to be content.
He provided food to eat, clothes to wear, a shelter, friends, family, a Christian community, and more than anything He provided us with his Word to know the good news and share them to others, to grow in our relationship with him and to put things in the right perspective. Matthew 6:31-33 tells us, “Therefore do not be anxious saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
So, has God been a different God in 2020? The answer is NO! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is Sovereign over everything. He cannot be changed by any circumstances. He is compassionate, and he is a loving Father who demonstrated his love on the Cross – in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for sinners like us (Rom.5:8). And God raised him from the dead on the third day. Moreover, Hebrews 4:13, reminds us that ‘For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.’ God sympathizes with us in our weaknesses through his son Jesus Christ. In this way, we must find comfort in knowing that God is a loving Father and we can trust him as our gracious and merciful God who never changes. Consequently, we can be certain that God never changes despite different circumstances in history. He is not a different God in different periods of life. He is the same God in all of history. God will still be the same God even in 2021 despite any circumstances.
lifewithdudu 