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Thursday, December 31, 2020

Sayonara, 2020! Auf Wiedersehen! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. And take your junk with you!

If only it were just as easy as evicting a bad tenant, renting a dumpster, cleaning house and starting over – oh, wait. No evictions, which is great for those who have been seriously impacted by the financial conditions of 2020, but as with everything else there are freeloaders and scammers who take advantage of the situation. And landlords stuck with problems they can’t do anything about. So it goes.

When the government was handing out cash earlier this year like candy at a parade, somebody apparently fabricated a business using my name and address, and now I’m getting statements from the U.S. Small Business Administration reminding me that my loan balance of $9,800 will be due in August, and it’s accruing interest as we speak.

Upon some research, a Bloomberg business article reported on how astonishingly easy it was to loot from the government’s COVID-19 loan program for small businesses. Literally all you had to do was complete a five-minute online application, say you had at least 10 employees, and collect your $10,000 in a few days.

In one district in Chicago, loan payouts were 12 times greater than the number of eligible recipients. I know, shocker, right?

And now with the newly signed $900 billion stimulus deal in motion, I hate to even think of the wasteful and fraudulent ways that money will fly out the window. But don’t worry. You’ll get your $600.

Unfortunately, we can’t evict 2020’s junk. We may turn the page on the calendar year, but the problems carry over. The virus isn’t going anywhere. Small businesses are still going under. Racial tensions haven’t been resolved. Political corruption remains rampant.

Are we listening to what God is trying to say? Isn’t it time we trust in Him with all our hearts, resting in His care, and seeking Him as our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble?

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). My fellow Christian, if we care to tune in, we’ll hear Him saying: I’ve got this, I’m with you, and I’ll save you!

God is still enthroned on high and no earthly calamity or king of any nation will ever threaten His eternal reign.

God still abides with us. He is Immanuel (“God with us”), and as we abide in Christ and His Spirit dwells within us, we will know the glad reality of His presence.

God still saves to the uttermost those who draw near to Him through Jesus. His promise of eternal life to those who believe in Jesus still stands, for He is forever faithful to His Word.

So be still. Rest your raging, anxious spirit in the Lord, and know the stillness of knowing God.

But if you’re not a follower of Jesus, then you need to heed this word: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15a). God longs to show you mercy and pour out grace upon grace, but the door will not be open forever. Who knows what 2021 may bring? The time is now: “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15b).


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