2020 Daily Devotion - Day 282

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It has been said, “An optimist stays up until midnight to welcome the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”

Perhaps this New Year’s Eve, all of us will be a little bit of an optimist and little bit of a pessimist. I think we find ourselves in the position that we will not miss the year 2020 and are hopeful (perhaps desperate) for 2021 to be a much better year.

And yet, as difficult as 2020 has been, it has also been a year in which we have learned many things. We have learned we are not as strong as we think we are. We have learned there are certain things way out of our control. We have had to face more of our mortality, and this has been humbling. Becoming more honest about these matters has helped us grow. We have had to consider what is most important in life. Hopefully, we have learned what we have needed most in all of this is a relationship with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. This has been a growth year, and perhaps one of the reasons 2020 had more to offer than we realized.

Perhaps 2021 will be the year we put the lessons of 2020 into action. Maybe this will be the year when we read our Bibles more, go to church regularly, become a part of a small group, or even attend Cursillo and take some really serious steps forward in spiritual growth.

So, when it is all said and done, I vote for being an optimist; knowing God is really the One in charge. And He proves His love for each of us through Jesus. This means we can be filled with faith and hope. Trusting in Him for the future means we can be optimists in 2021.

Proverbs 1:5 ESV
“Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance….”

Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, since You are always working to turn bad things into something good, we ask that You might do this through the memories we have of the year 2020. Use this past year as a time of being able to “increase in learning”. In this way, You help us to prepare for the coming year 2021. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
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