This was a year to remember…a year of changes, a year of handling disruptions, a year of great difficulty for some, a year of growth for others. Many faced unemployment, health crises, devastating losses, and separation from loved ones. Misunderstandings, prejudices, and divisions were brought to the forefront in the news and in our personal lives. It was an exhausting year, to say the least. The question many might be asking now is “Why?”. Why did we have to face these harsh happenings? Was God behind all of this chaos? Did God cause the Covid-19 pandemic? Was God trying to get our attention? Was God punishing us? Was God teaching us a lesson? I think the answer to each of these questions is a loud, “NO!”
God is not evil and cannot cause evil. I don’t believe God works from the mindset of the end justifying the means. God is here, present with us, but the One who loves us does not cause the earthquakes and the floods and the hurricanes and the tornadoes and the diseases. Creation itself is flawed and broken; it causes its own disasters. People, as a part of this fractured creation, are imperfect and incomplete; we cause our own pain and consequences. And God allows us this freedom. I don’t believe God sits behind the screen, manipulating creation and programming our stories. The Eternal One made us and all of creation with free will, to work and create and produce and to make decisions whether they are right or wrong.
What we need to realize, what we need to keep in mind, is that God is here. Our Creator is in it with us. And God cares. So, there is no answer to the “why things happen” questions. They just do. It’s part of life. It’s part of living in this limited universe. That being the case, I’m going to stop looking for reasons and begin looking for God. Where do I see God’s love? Where do I see God’s care? Do I see God’s hand reaching out to me? Can I take this hand and let God walk with me hand-in-hand through the difficulties? How has God been present during this difficult year of 2020? I want to open my eyes to how God is working. I want to see the joy in the middle of the sadness. I want to see the love in the middle of the loneliness. I want to see the light in the middle of the dark clouds. That’s God!
God isn’t a fairy godmother, ready to zap us with her wand and fix all our problems if we can just figure out how to say the right words. No, God is a loving Creator, a comforting Mother, a nurturing Father, ready to step in with support and beauty and guidance. And even when we are unaware, God is still there in the shadows and in the corners, hoping we realize that we are not alone.
So, let’s walk into 2021 with this hope. Hope in a God who cares. Hope in a God who will bring good out of evil, grace out of hostility, and healing out of affliction. Hope in the One who loves us first.
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