2021: In These Certain Times

It’s 2021. If there’s anything that last year taught me, it’s now quickly I could get sick of a phrase like, “In these uncertain times.” Well, that and how much time and money I was actually spending at Hobby Lobby. 

But seriously, folks, I know a lot of people really struggled to process all that 2020 brought our way. Global, national, and personal struggles flocked to 2020 like carp to spit. The mantra has been, “Is it 2021 yet?” As soon as the ball drops in the Covid-induced ghost town of Times Square, the year of nightmares will be over, and all our hopes and dreams will come true.

…Right?

But What If

Personally, 2020 wasn’t as hard on me as it was on many. I don’t watch the news, I don’t get worked up about politics, and I didn’t lose a job or a loved one to Covid. I know these are blessings from God, and I’m so thankful for them. This year I mostly just minded my own business and kept plugging away at life. 

For me, uncertainty comes not so much from big, global events as from smaller, personal concerns. The day-to-day things are what cause me to stress, worry, and overthink. Currently I’m seven months pregnant with my second baby, a little girl. My hubby and I are deeply in love with her already, and we can’t wait to smooch her. But there’s some uncertainty. The ultrasounds showed a slight area of concern that could completely change my birth plans. Her first few weeks may look different than what I’d hoped. It’s possible that I’ll be put in a situation where I have no control over anything, and that, my friends, is one of my worst nightmares. 

The Illusion of Control

But when I stop and think about it, do I ever actually have control anyway? I like to think so, but it’s not reality. And that’s the lesson that 2020 drove home in so many ways to so many people: We’re not in control. That’s really what made the year seem so rotten, isn’t it? The curtain was pulled back just a little bit, and our eyes followed the puppet strings up, up, up to a hand that was not our own. And that’s scary. Whose hand is that? 

That’s the million dollar question. The way you answer it determines whether you get ulcers or get rest. If it’s the hand of blind fate or a maniacal deity (or even “The Man”), then there’s nothing to rest in. You’re on your own, and it’s you against the world. What a thought. It reminds me of those cheery modern poets like Stephen Crane. 

A man said to the universe: 
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe, 
“The fact has not created in me 
A sense of obligation.”

The Reality of Our Creator

In contrast to this dismal outlook, the Bible offers hope. I’ve spent some time in Isaiah 44 recently, and there is so much truth and comfort there. Uncertainty comes from not knowing if the future is going to be like the past, for good or for ill. If we’re on our own in a senseless universe, that’s a valid concern. But the good news is that the One who formed us in the past is the One who will hold us in the future. In verse 6, God says, “I am the first, and I am the last, and there is no God besides me.” Verse 7 says that God not only established the ancient nation and can also declare the things that are coming. And this is meant to give us comfort. 

“Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none” (v8). There is no other Rock. If God is not our fortress, our protection, and our comfort, then there’s nowhere to go. 

Reading God’s claim here reminded me of the exchange between Jesus and his disciples in John 6:67-69. “…Many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’” There’s nowhere else to go. And that’s good news.

Finding Certainty

So if 2020 took its toll on you, don’t despair. 2021 is a new year indeed, and I pray it will bring good tidings of great joy to all people. But this new year is in the hands of the Ancient of Days, just like last year and every other year since forever. We may not always be comfortable with what God chooses to do, but we can know that He has chosen to do it in wisdom and love. If that doesn’t give you certainty in these uncertain times, I don’t know what will. 

Happy New Year, friends, and may God bless you!

Source: Crane, Stephen. “A Man Said to the Universe.” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44049/a-man-said-to-the-universe