“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good: His love endures forever.”
(1 Chronicles 16:34 NIV)
An early text from a far-flung friend brings the reality of 2020 back into focus: “Make sure have enough toilet paper. Things aren’t looking good.” This friend happens to be my researcher and bargain hunter: the one who starts Christmas shopping eleven months in advance. She is well-read, frugal and fast with a calculator. I’d actually added toilet paper to my last grocery order, overpaying for the good stuff and then to my delight, I unearthed an extra package in the garage. Oh the unique joys of this year! We’re good. But if I’m being honest, the panic and stockpile pattern of 2020 is getting old. I’ve changed my habits, I keep an extra of everything on hand now, just because I’m not sure how easy it will be to lay hands on it again. Stuff runs out and it’s hard to replace. That’s the reality of 2020.
In high contrast: God’s love never runs out. Let that push past your fears about the future, your concerns about the virus, your day-to-day wrestle with 2020’s challenges. His love endures forever. One day this world will roll up like so much used carpet, but God’s unfailing love will endure forever.
I always think of the pilgrims this time of year. Google the Mayflower Compact and remind yourself who they really were: the folks that set out for six long weeks on a boat in a great big ocean, months behind schedule. They barely made it through that first winter. They dug seven graves for every hut they erected. Yet they felt the need to be thankful: to pause in the middle of hardship and say ‘Thank You for bringing us thus far.’ The pilgrims had an inherent understanding of God’s unfailing love. They knew that the Father’s affection would endure far beyond their earthy struggles and they were grateful for how very far He had carried them.
I think this is a great attitude for us to adopt in 2020. We realize the pandemic is not over, in fact many of us are neck-deep in a second wave. Some have had it. Some still have it. Some have lost jobs. Some have lost loved ones. No one has gone unaffected. But we’ve made it this far and the love of God endures forever. That’s reason enough to stop today and be thankful for all we’ve survived thus far.
“Give thanks to God – He is good and His love never quits.”
(1 Chronicles 16:34 MSG)
Lord, we thank You for Your enduring love and we lean into it amidst this hard year. We are grateful to have made it thus far and confident that You love will carry us the rest of the way Home. Amen.