Tiptoeing into 2021

I’ve seen so many quotes about 2020 vs 2021 and the sense I get is this… please don’t cause more trouble!! It’s like we have all reached a limit where we just don’t want anything harder. And I get that. So many difficult and life changing things have happened. For some 2020 was a big inconvenience. For others businesses and loved ones were lost. And lots and lots of people got sick. So here we find ourselves sticking just a baby toe into the waters of 2021.

Usually this time of year is fraught with strong resolutions. We are feeling empowered to change something or start something new. And I’m here on your screen to encourage you to keep going after being the best you can be. Keep trying, keep pressing, keep asking God for what you need. Don’t let the disappointments and frustrations of last year cause this year to pass you by. And here is why…

Matthew 7:7 says “ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

I know. It’s so easy to look at these verses and snort. I can literally hear some of you saying, “That’s bunk. God didn’t answer any of my prayers last year. The whole year was a flop.” And I sympathize with you because if you take this verse to mean God will follow up your requests with a big YES you have every right to feel really wronged. But unfortunately that’s not how Matthew intended us to understand this verse.

See pronouns can be tricky and as a person with a degree in English Literature, I want to tell you something important. Pronouns are words like I, you, he, this, it, who and what and they replace the noun in a sentence. However, in so doing pronouns can create ambiguity. Like in the verse above. I’ll show you:

• ask, and it will be given to you = what does it refer to?
• seek, and you will find = find what?
• knock, and it will be opened to you = again with the it, what will be opened?

Usually, when a pronoun is ambiguous the listener personalizes the sentence in the best way they think it should go. In this case it is perfectly natural to assume that Matthew means:

• ask, and what you asked for will be given to you
• seek, and what you seek for you will find
• knock, and the door you knocked on will open

But that’s just not the case. God is not pretending to be our secret Santa in these verses. Instead, God is giving us the secret to a better relationship with… Himself. Because these verses actually mean:

• ask for a savior and he will be given to you
• seek a relationship with Christ and you will find it
• knock on the gates of Heaven and they will be opened to you

This beautiful verse points out that prayer is not so much to influence God, but to change the one praying. Isaiah 65:24 says “before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear” and that is not because he is waiting to be our genie with 3 wishes. It is because he loves us and wants to give us the riches of heaven.

You don’t need to tiptoe into 2021. I can’t promise anything about what this year will actually manifest but I do know that Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” This means that even in 2021 you can ask, seek and knock and have the wonders and riches of God come alive in your heart and mind. So in closing I will leave you with (what I believe) is the best mantra to keep on repeat in our heads throughout this year.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9

P.S. In case you’re curious about the sculpture at the top of this article, it is called Toe In The Water and was created by Bob Quinn. To see more of his interesting work check out his website: http://bobquinn.ie/