The Greatest Gift
I t's the last day of the year. I imagine some have already said "good riddance" to 2020 and "roll on 2021" but personally I wouldn't curse 2020.
Every year is a gift and, just like an unwanted Christmas gift, can easily be discarded by an ungrateful recipient if it fails to meet with expectations.
But I can't helping wondering if 2020 was an opportunity and whether I made the most of it?
Great Expectations?
I'm not sure what I was expecting from 2020 but I certainly wasn't expecting the Corona Virus pandemic or that it would turn the whole world upside down.
I knew God had said to me that "things would not continue as before" towards the end of 2019 but it had only left me curious as to what might unfold.
Christmas Traditions
This year we put up our Christmas tree and Christmas lights early. In November!
It was an act of defiance against the idea that Christmas might be cancelled this year. Not in our house! No way would COVID-19 stop us celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Normally, just before Christmas, I would drive up to Yorkshire to deliver family Christmas presents and visit relatives in time to return home for the Christmas Carol Service at church. This journey often marks the start of "Christmas proper" for me but not this year - lockdown rules prevented it.
I didn't get to sing Christmas carols at church either. I do so love the words of "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" which talk about the "everlasting light" and the "wondrous gift" God silently gave to the world.
Two Miracles
Just when I wasn't sure if I'd taken from 2020 everything that I should, two miracles occurred on the last day of the year!
Miracle #1
News of the first miracle was posted on our Lifegroup Leaders WhatsApp group. It read:
Morning all, little testimony.
Yesterday I had a strong migraine. I don’t get them often, but once I have, I have to go to bed, nothing helps, sometimes even hurts next morning.
So yesterday from around 4 pm my head started to hurt and was going worse and worse.
As I was putting kids to bed around 8pm, my 3 year old Luke just said: “I’ll pray for u! Pain go away in Jesus name now.”
And I was instantly healed!
Pretty powerful when 3 year old prays and you get healed, just waned to share that with u guys.
Miracle #2
News of the second miracle was also posted on our Lifegroup Leaders WhatsApp group. It read:
I was called to my mum's care home at 9 this morning and told my mum had had a stroke and was not expected to survive.
I declared God's promise to me for 120 percent restoration for every day of her life that the devil has stolen from us.
I declared that "he who would see good days (plural) must keep his tongue from evil".
I whispered to my mum that she would see many more good days.
I started to thank God for healing and thanked Him that she would wake up and recover and that she would laugh and smile with me this day.
They asked me if I wanted her taken to hospital and I said "NO!"
They told me she had the death rattle and that there was nothing they could do about it.
I told them her life was not in my hands, nor theirs, but in the Lord's. He has cared for her thus far and He would not fail.
Young carers heard my witness to them and I told them my rock was my Jesus.
We have had a miracle here. My mum has not had a stroke.
She knew my voice and my touch. She woke up and sat up.
She has laughed and smiled with us this afternoon. We have hugged and kissed her for the first time in ten months today.
All vital signs returned to normal. She ate and drank.
God is always faithful. He is always true. We must stand on His promises.
She is nearly 93. He never left me for a moment. It's not over, however bad the situation, until He says so.
Thank you for praying❤️
The Greatest Gift
We may not know what the future holds but as believers we know who holds our future.
2020 taught me that the only reliable hope is to be found in God. There is no security to be found in anyone or anything else.
It is so amazing to know the peace of Jesus and to receive His salvation as a free gift. No matter what situation we may find ourselves in, He is with us and for us.
We are not in control but God is.
Why not put your life into His hands and become a part of His plan? His peace can be yours today. It is the greatest gift.
Tim Simpson
31st December, 2020
#ChristianDogWalker