Well...here we are again, PTL!! Another December 31st. WOW...what a year 2020 has been, hasn't it? We could all write a book, a "novella" about our experiences during this very strange year. And to think that the struggles have been shared worldwide make it even more bizarre. Right now, Panama, my country of birth, where most of my family lives, is in lock-down, again...positivity rates are through the roof and the health systems are overwhelmed. The authorities are at a loss not knowing how to manage the crisis, government corruption is not helping either, and in the meantime, the people are truly suffering.
My heart aches for Panama. I don't know what to do ... I feel so helpless ... so homesick ...
And then, I look around, and realize that things are not much better here either. The whole world is in a state of hardship. People are anxiously waiting for 2020 to end as if just because the year ends, the problems will end with it...as if the New Year would magically bring the resolution, absolution and peace we are all searching for...I'm afraid it doesn't work that way, though. The new year is not going to be our savior. 2021 is not the one who will bring us the answers we are looking for...sigh...
Just as I sat down to write these rather tormenting thoughts, I opened up the last page of a devotional book I really love, and a little thing Dylan made years ago either at Sunday School or Junior Church slipped out of the back cover...I think it was meant to be a construction paper flower, which once might have been yellow and green, but now is faded and stained. What still is really clearly visible is the writing that's on it. In bold letters, it says: Jesus is Alive.
...pause...truly, truly, pause a moment and let that statement, that declaration resonate in your mind, heart and soul: Jesus IS Alive! Say it to yourself many times. Repeat it silently and allow this truth to permeate you very being...and experience the peace that these proclamation brings...Jesus is Alive...
This is all that matters: Jesus is Alive. He was born as a baby in Bethlehem all those centuries ago...but He is still here. He is Alive! And He commands our destiny. No viruses, no pandemics, no governments, no political instability, no corrupted officials, no fraud, no vaccines, no treatments, none of that is going to bring us salvation, only Jesus can do that. The peace we are looking for can only be found in Him who IS Peace. No hope can be found anywhere else but in His Presence...the Presence of the One who IS Hope.
We are the jars of clay...He is the Living Water that fills us up. He is the River of Peace that sweeps us away into His Presence so we can finally surrender the struggle and rest.
It is my prayer that today, as we say goodbye to a year that has been...challenging...to say the least, we resolve to seek the Face of the One and Only. And that as we ponder the reality of Him being Alive, that we may discover the peace that only His Presence can bring, and rest in the Hope that only He can provide. May we all find a reminder today, that Jesus IS, indeed, Alive! In the Precious Name of Our Only Savior, Jesus Our Lord...Our God. Amen!
Happy New Year!
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