With a new year comes a sense of expectancy, and even more so with a new decade. So, like many of you, I started 2020 with an added level of intentionality as I prayed and mapped out my goals for the months ahead. We’ve all heard the quotes and clichés about 20/20 vision, and as the new year dawned, the memes abounded. There was such a feeling of hope, a promise for all that 2020 would bring. And then…COVID-19. Need I say more?
It’s safe to say that both you and I, at some point in recent months, have found ourselves in a state of displacement, uncertainty, transition – call it what you like – but our day-to-day lives have been upended in one way or another. And when something of this scale happens, it’s hard to stay focused on the bigger picture of God’s plan for each of our lives. We’re so caught up in navigating and surviving the chaos, that we stop fixing our eyes on the Creator.
I heard the timeless hymn, “Be Thou My Vision” recently, and it got me thinking: what is my vision for the remainder of 2020, with more than half the year already gone (and most of that spent in varying states of lockdown-type restrictions), and bleak projections for what still lies ahead? As I listened to the lyrics, the first verse jumped out at me in a new “2020” way:
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
If we write down that first line – “Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart” – to look like this: “God, be my Vision, O Lord of my heart”, then suddenly, it becomes clear what our “2020 Vision” is to be for these next months. I’ll give you a hint: it’s the same as my 2018 Vision, and my 2019 Vision, and my Vision for every year to come. God, be my Vision. God, guide my life. God, You’re in charge – not me!
Earthly trials will come and earthly trials will go. Some, like COVID-19, will rock our world more than others. But Scripture reminds us, “For by Him all things were created that are in Heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17).
Take heart and have hope, my friend: God’s sovereignty is not shaped by our circumstances. And when we fix our eyes on Him, the troubles of this life begin to pale in comparison. May we find renewed “2020 Vision” by drawing close to the Lord in this season, knowing that He’s already gone before us!
