As we reflect on 2020, I want to remind us about perspective. Recently, we were looking back on our business over the last year. God blessed us so much this year despite the difficulties of 2020. No one missed a paycheck. Business went well. We met budget. There’s a temptation to go back and figure out all the little details of a blessing. When Angel was pregnant with Clayton, we felt called for her to stay home, but we were $200 short every single month. And during that year, instead of borrowing money or putting things on a credit card, we actually paid off $5,000 worth of debt.
A lot of people asked me how we did it. Did I get an unexpected bonus? How did we pay off that debt? But I choose to simply see it as a blessing from God. I don’t need to analyze the details. As you look at your 2020, what blessings did you receive from God? What’s your perspective on those blessings? I want to encourage you to simply accept the gift and not try to discover all the details. God is faithful.
King David, towards the end of his life in 2 Samuel 24, said, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.” So the King said to Joab, the army commander, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, enroll the fighting men so that I may know how many there are.” He wanted to know how large and powerful the army of Israel was instead of trusting God for protection.
But Joab had replied to the King, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops 100 times over and may the eyes of the Lord, the king, see it, but why does my Lord want to do such a thing?” Joab realized that in going and counting, David wanted to know the physical blessing and not the spiritual. However, David was conscious stricken after he had counted the fighting men. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I’ve done. Now, oh Lord, I beg you to take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.” God punished David for his lack of faith.
What is your story of blessing from last year? Can you see the spiritual side of what happened to you physically in 2020? I encourage you to hold on to that, journal it, put it down, but don’t go back and count it. Don’t boil down God’s blessings to the physical, but instead change your perspective to see how God is working spiritually.
Our God is a God of miracles. What miracles are you praying for in 2021? When we learn to view God’s blessings in a spiritual sense, we get closer to his heart and we see more of his miracles every single day. I encourage you to take a step back, reflect on the miracles God has done this year. As you look to 2021, invite him to do more! We are expectantly awaiting all the blessings God will provide for us this year.