I know the peculiar circumstances of the year gone by put many of us in survival mode. Many people went into last year with great plans and goals to attain. March came around and our world simply froze. Planned events were postponed or canceled. Great projects canceled, hopes dashed. All we asked for was the luxury of staying alive! By God’s grace alone we have made it to the end of 2020. Entering 2021, some people have taken a different posture; “Hope for nothing, plan for nothing.” You may even have said, “Of what use is having dreams and expectations only to have them dashed?” There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?” LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us (Psalm 4:6). The psalmist spoke about losing hope in man but turned to GOD-the only true source of hope.
First and foremost, let us correct the impression that some may have had, that there was nothing good about 2020. Without being insensitive to the pain and hurt all around us, I dare say that God never stopped working or being good in 2020. Indeed, I find the Word of God to be true “Out of the eater came something to eat; out of the strong came something sweet” (Judges 14:14). Miracle babies were born in 2020. Ministries and businesses were birthed amidst the pandemic, many bagged a long-awaited degree or moved into their dream home, others wrote their first book, long overdue! Yet we continued to see human suffering, and pain all around. Disappointed, many chose to lower their expectation as a coping mechanism, or simply decided to have no expectation at all! That is the subject I want to address in this new year blog.
In the book of Ruth chapter one, we read about Naomi and her husband who went from Bethlehem to Moab at a time of famine. They initially intended to stay “for a while” but ended up tarrying in the land. Unfortunate circumstances befell the family because Naomi lost her husband and two sons in the land of Moab. In distress and bitterness of soul, she returned to Bethlehem with Ruth, the daughter in law who refused to let her go. Moved by her story, the people of the City pitied her plight. Looking at them with eyes of hopelessness, Naomi said to her kinsmen, “Call me not Naomi, call me Mara (meaning bitter) for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.” Sometimes we make decisions to walk away from the place of God’s provision and turn around and blame God when things turn sour. Thank God that in Naomi’s life, there was a Ruth! This God-sent daughter in-law clung to Naomi and would not let bitterness prevail. She revived the hopes of her despairing mother in-law and brought sunshine and laughter back in her eyes. Together, they persevered through hardship and suffering until God brought Boaz Ruth’s way to preserve a generation that became included in the genealogy of Jesus. It is recorded that Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse and Jesse the father of David (Matthew 1:5-6). According to genealogy, Jesus is the son of David. The joy that Ruth brought into the Life of Naomi is multiplied through Jesus Christ to become a joy of many generations!
I have been privileged to work closely with the elderly, and I have
seen first-hand the destructive power of a loss of hope or expectation in human
life. I remember looking into blank staring eyes that seem to say, “one day is
no different from the other” Those same eyes light up with life at the
expectation of a visit from a loved one, or something as simple as going out
for a doctor’s appointment. Expect blessings, expect goodness, do not expect
trouble. God has great plans for you this year. He says in Jeremiah 29:11 “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” Job was not entirely
surprised when calamity came upon him, his words betrayed his expectations “For
the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to
me” (Job 3:25).
What are your expectations for 2021? Let your expectations light up your countenance, lean forward in hope. Increase your capacity in preparation of increase!
For surely there is an end; and your expectation shall not be cut off (Proverbs 23:18).
