How to successfully transition into the 2021 New Year

It is hard to believe that we are just a couple of days away from exiting 2020 and launching into 2021. This year has given a new meaning to “hindsight is 2020” which now means “get this into the rear-view mirror!” Yet through all the chaos, fear, divisiveness, conflict and frustration, God has shown Himself to be faithful. He has been and forever will be faithful and true by His very nature and we have continuously seen His hand of protection and provision this year. So how do we  successfully transition into the New Year when so much ahead of us is unknown? 

The first key is focus. Successful transition into the New Year requires moving our focus off of the struggles and problems of 2020 and onto the goodness of God in the midst of it. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” (James 1:2). God is in every problem, every crisis, and every struggle and He uses them for His glory and our good. Every. Single. One. Loss, in God’s economy, is the gateway to gain, and pain is the avenue to growth. When we “consider it joy,” our focus moves from despair and grumbling to gratitude and praise. 

In one of the darkest periods in our lives, Toni and I took a walk around our neighborhood just to get some fresh air and clear our heads. We were in the aftermath of a series of deep betrayals that left us decimated and wondering whether or not we could keep going. As we began trudging through the 2-mile trek, desperate for a glimmer of hope, we decided to try to remember any way we had seen God during the 3-month ordeal we had just endured. As we took turns recounting our blessings, our hearts got lighter and lighter with each step. The memories kept coming. When we got back home, Toni began typing the bullet points of all the things we had remembered on our walk. The list filled up 7 pages! Each single-spaced bullet point was only 1 to 3 lines long which summarized a much longer story. Our perspective on the trials we had just come through forever changed that night. Forgiving Forward was birthed out of the soil of that praise report.

Gospel legend Andrae’ Crouch expressed this core mindset when he wrote these words, “So I thank God for the mountain, and I thank Him for the valleys, I thank Him for the storms He brought me through. For if I’d never had a problem, I’d never know that God could solve them. I’d never know what faith in God could do. Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God. Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His word.” (Through It All, 1971) 

When we change our mindset from fear to faith, from complaint to praise, when we “consider it all joy,” we find hope for the future. 

The second key is to forgive. Every one of us has been wounded this year. None of us has survived unscathed. The political discourse, the racial disharmony, quarantining with family, and job insecurities have left us hurt, disappointed, and disillusioned. Many of us are angry with the government, our bosses, parents, spouse, children, friends, and even total strangers. Some of the things we have suffered this year seem overwhelming and unresolvable. Yet, because of the Cross of Jesus, nothing is truly overwhelming and unresolvable. The blood of Jesus truly does cover all sin, including the ones that wound us, even a global pandemic and a chaotic election year. You will never be free until you forgive. To successfully transition into 2021, we need to forgive everyone for everything that wounded us in 2020.

To help you forgive, we want to highlight 3 resources for you:

• The Forgiveness Guide is available for free on our homepage HERE! The Forgiveness Guide contains the Protocols of Forgiveness which will guide you to freedom when you choose to forgive. 

• For a quick study of how to forgive you can use our 7-day YouVersion devotional FORGIVENESS: The Freedom of the Gospel. You can go through this free devotional by yourself or invite your friends to take the journey with you.

• For a deeper dive into how to forgive you can access The Forgiving Forward Course. The Forgiving Forward Course has helped thousands of people experience the freedom of the Gospel through the power of forgiveness. This resource can also be completed by yourself or with your family and friends.

Join us and resolve to navigate the transition into the New Year by focusing on Jesus and forgiving everything. We invite you to pray this with us each morning throughout 2021: 

Lord, be our focus throughout every day so that we see Your hand in everything that we encounter. Jesus, because your Blood is enough for us, we choose now to forgive every wound we may suffer today. Thank you for your sacrifice on the Cross for us!

Our prayer is that what we have shared this year has encouraged you, strengthened you, and at times challenged you in your relationship with our great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray that He will reveal Himself to you as you shift your focus onto Him and that you will experience His freedom when you choose to forgive in the New Year. 

Happy New Year,

Bruce and Toni