“This year 2021, has been a terrible year,” this is how most people are describing this year, but to say this would be to colour and paint the year with the same brush that coloured the bad times, yes there have been difficult moments in the year, there have been moments of fear and loss, but yet God’s grace has ensured that we are here at the end of the year, getting ready for 2022.  Now as we take stock and recap what was 2021, I hear the Lord calling us into a place of gratefulness.

I am reminded of the journey the Apostle Paul took to Rome in Acts 27 and Acts 28, and the unfortunate incident that seemed to have been a delay, but in Gods perfect plans there was a purpose.  Now understand me right I’m not calling 2021 a shipwreck, quite the opposite really, I’m calling the pandemic that hit the whole world COVID 19 the shipwreck.

When we stepped into 2021, like many believers we stepped in to this year with prayer, confessions and believing the Lord that the start of the decade would set the tone for this next ten years.  Now for myself personally 2021 was the year of change, I was really believing the lord for a great power and the manifestation of promises.  Now I still believe He is able but I need to speak to those who have given up on what they were believing for. 

When we look at Paul’s journey to Rome, you find that the Lord showed him a visions of shipwreck. A shipwreck happened and Paul and his traveling companions on their boat find themselves in Malta, where the first order of business was a snake bite.  Now it seems things are going from bad to worse for Paul, first a shipwreck, now a snake bite and yes everyone was waiting for Paul to drop dead at that point, but he did not.  The snake bite was followed by name calling, because one of the people said that Paul must truly be a horrible man, some speculated a murderer. 

Now when you look at it in the context of this year, COVID was the shipwreck, the financial crisis that lead to your retrenchment is the snake bite, and yes it seems like things are going from bad to worse, but the thing is the year is not over yet, and it still has promise.

I am still hopeful that the year will turn around in our favour and that the Lord is going to have a suddenly situation take place in your life.  Because Like Mary and Martha, there is coming a suddenly situation in your life and the Lord is going to change your weeping into singing, your mourning into rejoicing.  I believe that even though everyone has given up and written this year off, for those that believe there is going to be a suddenly situation it will come to pass.  I leave you with Romans5:3-5 in the NKJV “And not only that, but also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character and character, hope. Now Hope dos not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Let us keep hoping and believe in the Sovereign God who is able.