For me… 2020 was rather a year full of development, discovery, and healing.
Though 2020, was by far the strangest and one of the most complex years, if I never felt God, 2020 was/is the year I felt God heavily.
His spirit filled the world. Though God’s spirit is always strong and always stretching to cover every part of the world; this is the year I think everyone encountered God in some form of way. Whether it was intentional or non intentional, I truly believe God revealed Himself in all our lives in various ways.
Yet, this year has been absolutely unique and truly a year that new life changing history was written. Though, it was strange to us, it was not strange to God. I believe God knew we needed a 2020. We needed a flood, a cleanse, worldwide.
As I’m writing this, I thought of the biblical story, Noah and the Ark.
How in the book of genesis, God was so heartbroken with the human race that He mandated a flood to destroy every wicked thing, every human and living thing, all due to the depth of sin. The world had gotten too far off from God’s way. The world had become a world of its own; disregarding The Creator. And this… this broke God’s heart.
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
-Genesis 5:32-10:1 NIV
I thought about how sin and humans had gotten so infected with sin and consumed in their own flesh and worldly ways, that it broke God’s heart; and I connect it to how we are living in similar times even still today.
Through the rainbow, this was God’s sign and the promise to never flood the earth again.
13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
-Genesis 9:13-17
I find it no coincidence, that even though God promised us He would never flood the earth again; Still, He knew even after the great flood, future generations we were going to sin again because it was now embedded in human flesh. (since Adam and Eve)
The story of Noah & the Ark, transpired me to interpret how incredibly important it is to God to choose Him over the world; and to simply be a good person. This ultimately is what set Noah apart from the world; and granted him favor from the Lord.
I was able to reflect how incredibly important it is to God to be a good person in the eyes of Him. How incredibly important the way we live our life matters to God. How truly having a pure heart for the Lord can save our life and soul. How God truly searches the depths of our hearts to determine who truly loves and honors Him.
I know it’s incredibly important to God because , Though, He declared that the human race had ultimately gone too far in their ways in sin, and therefore the storm was going to destroy all living things, God said, except… Noah… why Noah? Because he was rich? No. Because he was famous? No. Because he was randomly chosen? No. Because he got lucky? No.
God’s words says that the flood was going to take every living thing, except Noah because… Noah’s heart was pure. Noah’s heart was set on God. And because of this, God granted Noah favor. God granted Noah to keep his life, because Noah’s heart was different than the worlds.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
-Genesis 6:9
Having a good heart matters.
So, how important is having a pure heart to God? Very.
I believe God has searched the hearts of us all. I also believe when God has searched our hearts, I know He has found much corruption.
And though I know God is not pleased with the way of the world, He promised us He would never forsake us, this was and is His covenant to us.
But, though He will never forsake us, this does not mean God will not allow things to happen in the world to get our attention. In fact, I believe God often allows many things to take place within the world to signal us to return back to Him.
Often, God will shake up the land we call earth to tell us we desperately need Him and have forsaken Him.
The Year God Widely Proclaimed He is King
2020 was the year. Though corruption has been going on far before 2020; 2020 was the year God widely proclaimed that He is King and we are not.
It was year that signified we can only go so far in our ways until we must surrender. Not just in the United States, but worldwide.
I often think about the depths of this current pandemic. How this pandemic is global. Not a local thing, not a United States of America thing, but a global pandemic.
This year has made many hearts search God for answers to questions that many people just don’t know. Questions that much of the world doesn’t’ know.
God’s power shows when doctors, teachers, scientist, leaders, officials, and experts don’t have concrete answers to critical questions, regarding to what is going to happen or what is happening in the world. It leads minds and hearts looking to God for the answers to the unknown.
And though many of us don’t for certain know what will happen next,—God does.
God’s Outcry
I believe 2020 was the outcry of God saying,
“Take a look at the world we call our home,
Take a look at the evilness, corruption, stress, anxiety, betrayal, brokenness, and hatred, that is within our world—that has gone on for generation after generation.“
All the corruption that we, His children have allowed, created, and prolonged for over 100 generations…
2020 was the year that God made each of us really take a look at the world and our lives. And He didn’t just make a few of us do it, He made the entire world do it.
2020 was the year.
Beliefs, values, history, pain, vulnerability, trauma, sickness, death, loss, grief, wisdom, revelation, soul searching, racism, power—all of these things were surfaced this year.
This was the year that many of us sat with ourselves for the first time and discovered much about ourselves, the world, and who we are. This was year that many of us questioned the root of ourselves and where we come from, for the first time. So, so much was unveiled this year and it truly was a global impact.
Where are the ones with hearts truly for Jesus?
This was the year that I truly believe God was asking, where are the Noah’s?
“Where are the ones that truly love Me?”
The ones that truly know me as the “Great I Am?”
Where are the ones that recognize, though, sin and corruption has overtaken the flesh, that God is our greatest hope? Who are the ones who are genuinely rooted in love? Who are the ones that genuinely love God and other people? Where are the people that recognize our world can not truly prevail until love and submission to God outweighs every factor in the world?
Because truly, the people that can truly change our world for the better, are the ones who are truly good people at heart. The ones who’s hearts are truly for God.
I pray that if 2020 taught you nothing else, that it would have left you with: It truly does matter what is in our hearts. It matters how we treat others, most importantly, that truly, we are nothing without God.
The connection Between Noah and the Ark and 2020
I referenced the story Noah and Ark because I find it so powerful how in the great flood that last 40 days and 40 nights, and destroyed all things on earth, God saved one mans life, Noah’s life through the greatest storm. All because Noah found favor with the Lord because his heart was not like the ones of the world.
In biblical times, God sent out a flood to cleanse the world and to teach future generations of the consequences of going too far in our worldly ways and sin. The flood highlighted how we can only go so far in sin until God must grasp our attention to return back to Him.
2020 was not the same flood from Noah and the Ark, but it was indeed God pulling on the strings of our hearts and ordering us to reflect.
So maybe, just maybe… 2020 was the year we needed. The year to unveil and heal. The year to make right what’s been wrong and silent. The year to make the world be still so all eyes could go back on Him.
I believe God is looking for the ones He can appoint favor to as He did to Noah. He’s searching by the depths of our hearts.
I’m praying 2021 is the year we continue to acknowledge God. I’m praying hearts are shifted for His glory, and we return our hearts to Him so our world can heal.
Keep going friends, keep going for God. Surely, He see’s all those thirsty for Him, hungry to live out their purpose for His glory. Hang on, be love, be light, give love, give light.
JesusChristChangedMyLife because those I may not know the unknown, I know Savior that does.
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