We have finally finished the last month of the year 2020. I suspect few were sorry to see it go. I heard one person say, “I’m staying up until midnight on December 31st, not to welcome in the new year, but to make sure 2020 leaves!” I thought that was quite humorous!
It was a difficult and challenging year, to say the least. The turmoil of 2020 was mind-boggling at times. Of course, the biggest disruptor has been the pandemic, but we also endured an impeachment trial, a summer of civil unrest, and the most contentious election season in memory. All of these things have served as catalysts for polarization, and we have become a “house divided” (Luke 11:17). I feel, we are divided more than at any time since the Civil War. In the midst of all the trouble that has marked this as a year we’d like to forget, what we really need is … a Savior.
The major political parties essentially told us the same thing during the presidential campaign, didn’t they? One side maintained that their candidate would save us from socialism. The other side claimed that their candidate would save us from losing our democracy. Though poles apart in countless ways, at least they agreed on one thing: we need someone to rescue us from our distress.
Well, guess what! A Savior has come to us! His name isn’t Donald or Joe, but Jesus. He entered into our shared human experience not with press conferences and victory parades, but with the gentleness of a baby’s breath. He offers us salvation from problems that aren’t just temporary but eternal. He wasn’t on the ballot on election day, but He invites us to choose Him every day so He can guide us into the kind of life that is abundant and eternal.
While we eagerly wait to see what the new year brings and the promise it holds for overcoming the pandemic, let’s not overlook the hope that Christ provides. Perhaps now more than ever, we need a reminder that God comes to us in our distress. Jesus is our Immanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:23; Isa. 7:14). And God is at work in this very moment to uphold and sustain His people. To paraphrase Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord our God is with us, He is mighty to save.”
As we move into January, remember that God has already acted through Christ to save us from our greatest threat, and His love and care for us remains undiminished. Be prudent and wise—God expects no less—but trust Him through it all, and He will give you peace. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7).