God only knows what’s in store for us in 2021. No doubt, it will be a battle for joy and contentment. A battle to kill sin. A battle against the enemy, the father of lies.
How will you arm yourself, friend?
The apostle Paul encourages us to put on the full armor of God. In Ephesians 6:16-17, he says “…take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
So for 2021, let’s take up the sword of the Spirit and commit to memorizing the word of God. Let’s be watchful for God’s goodness in our lives. And let’s be thankful for His abounding grace each and every day.
My 2021 Battle Plan is a 104-page journal that includes artwork for each of the 52 Fighter Verses for 2021, as well as space to jot down whatever I am thankful for each day.
The struggle is real, but God equips us. Second Corinthians 9:8 says that “God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
Order your own weekly journal at cost ($8.19 plus shipping and tax) through Blurb.
Whatever makes you smile, whatever is pure, noble, lovely, excellent or praiseworthy, that’s a gift from God. That’s a reason to thank Him. And that’s a reason to trust Him with whatever unknowns 2021 may bring.
The frigid November air pierces right through your bones. The forceful, whirling wind blasts on and on with a long, lonesome howl.
The trees, so gloriously ablaze with color just yesterday, now stand bare and thin and gray.
And in the front yard, 10,000 leaves pile up shin-deep, each a sorrowful reminder of how dry and lost this month — this whole year — feels.
We live in a fallen world, and in a year like 2020, well it can make life seem hopeless. It can make your heart feel as cold and lonely as the wind. It can make your soul feel as dark and bare as the tree branches. And in our disappointment, we must decide: To complain or to be content? To grumble or to be grateful? To reject the entire 12 months as a blur of frustration, or to receive every moment of it with thanksgiving?
Will my mind and my mouth choose to thank God for all His goodness, even when His goodness doesn’t feel warm and green and vibrant? Even when His goodness feels brown and bare and bitter cold? Even when His goodness seems hidden in the darkness of lockdowns and riots and loss?
In his song “10,000 Reasons,” singer and song-writer Matt Redman encourages us to keep singing praises to God – whatever may pass and whatever lies before us – because God has given at least 10,000 reasons for our hearts to find. Oh, my soul, keep singing, even when the health department tells me to shut my mouth.
Oh, my soul, keep hunting. Forget any anxious search for safety. Forget that futile striving for the normalcy of 2019. Forget any hope in the government. Remember what you’re really hunting for this November.
Remember you’re on an easy hunt for God’s abundant goodness. Remember how, even in 2020, His goodness piles up higher and deeper than 10,000 fallen leaves. Even in 2020, His goodness surrounds me, and I can smile.
So remember to look around you, friend, and see God’s love for you. Is it a steamy cup of hot cocoa that warms your hands? A loved one’s unexpected text that brightens your afternoon? A glimpse at the setting sun glowing through pink clouds?
Whatever makes you smile, whatever is pure, noble, lovely, excellent or praiseworthy, that’s a gift from God. That’s a reason to thank Him. And that’s a reason to trust Him with whatever unknowns 2021 may bring.
This Thanksgiving 2020, let’s be truly thankful. Let’s hunt for God’s goodness. Let’s rake up 10,000 reminders of His goodness. Let’s joyfully sing and let’s celebrate by thanking Him like never before.
“They celebrate Your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of Your righteousness.”
Starlight Writer 