We can all agree that 2020 was a crazy year. But 2021 has just started – so what now? My encouragement to you is this:
Don’t stop dreaming. Don’t press pause. Don’t shut down.
So many people were hanging on for New Year’s Eve secretly wondering if, perhaps at midnight, a switch would be flipped and life would be different as of January - and it just didn’t happen.
But for those of us who serve Christ – we have a living hope!
1 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
It is important for us to understand that we can’t wait for a different lockdown level or a vaccine or the end of the mask mandate to continue moving forward and living our lives. We need to have hopes and dreams TODAY – not only for the distant future but also for 2021.
My advice to all of us is to take a fresh look at our desires for this year and then for us to WRITE THEM DOWN and trust God to fulfill them. I am a big fan of Terri Savelle Foy who shares in her teachings how the most successful people in the world are the ones who WROTE THEIR GOALS DOWN - and then kept them before them until they were achieved. This is scriptural! In Habakkuk 2:2 it says: “… “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.”
It’s not enough for us to simply write down our dreams and goals. We need to keep them before our eyes and have scripture to back them up! (Thank you, TSV.)
Some of you may be asking: “How can I have dreams when I’m just trying to SURVIVE.”
As Christians, we are not called to simply survive – we are called to THRIVE. This is possible by believing and living out the Word of God, and being obedient to the Holy Spirit.
We need to settle it in our heart that, no matter what we see around us, God is good and He is willing and able to take care of us.
Philippians 4:19 says: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” This is not just ‘a nice thought;’ it is a steadfast promise that we can stand on. We do not need to beg for the things that we need: we simply need to thank God for providing them (irrespective of what our present circumstances look like). God is not a man that He should lie. He keeps His Word and we can rest securely in that!
Now - back to our desires - because with our needs taken care of, that’s what’s left!
Psalm 37:4 tells us that when we delight ourselves in the Lord He will give us the desires of our hearts. There is no Covid clause that states He’ll do it "unless there’s a global pandemic!"
Don’t lay down your dreams. Don’t even put them on hold. Our God is the God of the impossible and He is a good Father.
Jeremiah 29:11 states: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” You have a future and a hope!
So, don't compromise on your desires! If you're trusting God for an overseas trip - dont settle for a 3 star BnB down the road from your house. The question is not whether God is able; the question is will you believe that God is able?
My prayer for you as you read this post is found in Romans 15:13:
“May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.”
Don’t wait for things to get better in the next presidential address or the CDC or the news. You have full permission to THRIVE instead of SURVIVE in 2021 because you have a living hope!
JESUS CHRIST IS OUR LIVING HOPE