Good riddance - by Bec Bonython

Just after Christmas I was at Woolworths and I saw a New Year’s Eve balloon saying “Good riddance 2020”.  For a moment I had a chuckle about the year that was, and then I stopped and thought about it. 

·         Yes, it has been a very interesting year, unlike anything we could ever have imagined.

·         Yes, we have experienced all the highs and lows, and uncertainties of what a pandemic can bring.

·         Yes, we have had moments of fear, frustration and anxiousness.

·         Yes, I still have to use spell checker for the word ‘quarantine’ :)

But I thought about it again and checked my heart – No, that is the wrong attitude to this year. Do I really want to remove or forget a year that the Lord has created? I may have not understood the whys and the hows, but God has. It was a year where I was not in control (which is very uncomfortable for me!) but I know God was.   

This is the day [year] that the Lord has made. I WILL rejoice and be glad in it. (Ps 118:24)

As you ponder this year and think about next year, can I encourage you to choose to be thankful?  Choose to see all the good things God has done this year. Choose to rejoice. Choose to be content and be satisfied in Him.  As a church we have had people come to know Jesus and be baptised – to declare Him as Lord of their lives – wow! We have had people decide to draw near to Him; to love and trust Him more. We have had healings. We have had victories over our circumstances. We have had the Spirit of God move when we gather together! We have had God speak to us. What an amazing year of God’s grace and mercy to us! His richness and blessing upon us has caused us to wonder and be in awe of Him.

Choose to let your heart be drawn to those things, and not the worries and turmoils that will forever be in the world.  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

I encourage you to read Psalm 118 this week and will leave you with v26: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God and he has made his light shine upon us."

Thank you Lord for your favour and blessing upon us. Thank you Lord for 2020.