Dealing with 2020

By Angela Slaughter, October 6, 2020

I’ve been doing serious battle with discouragement lately. Ok, that’s a lie. I’ve been doing serious battle with discouragement all my life. I’ve always struggled to feel worthy, good enough, pretty enough, gifted enough, and on and on. Over the years, I’ve gotten better about speaking truth out loud and making myself believe it. But 2020… it’s been a doozy in the discouragement department.

I know I am not alone. I can’t scroll through my social media feed without noticing the weight 2020 has ushered into the lives of people I know and love. And while I truly believe good will come from this crazy year, right now, it’s just heavy.

COVID has been hard on so many people in so many areas of life. For us, it kept us from meeting face to face for months, significantly slowed down the renovation process for the new building, isolated us from “our people,” has dramatically impacted us financially, and has kept people in their homes instead of with us here in church. All of this is understandable. People are scared and hurting. But on Sunday, as I walked into our beautiful new church with more empty seats than we’ve seen in some time, it felt like a punch in the gut. In fact, I snuck away into my little office and proceeded to have a serious one-on-one with Jesus, complete with anger and tears.

It took lots more tears, a good conversation with Matt, and several hours and prayers later for me to pull myself back together.

I wanted to share a couple things Matt and I talked about that brought some perspective that, I think, might apply to us all during this time of uncertainty.

  1. We see so little of what God is doing, but behind the scenes, He’s planning, arranging, composing, coordinating, positioning. We just have to believe He’s working when we can’t see it. I read a quote once that said something like, “God is always doing thousands of things in your life, and you might be aware of three of them.” In 2020, we have to put our faith into practice more than ever before. TRUST He’s in control, even when the chaos abounds. BELIEVE He’s there, holding us in His hands, protecting and loving and SEEING us.

    (Honest confession: After I left my office, I walked into the big room where the band had already began worship. Behind my mask, I was gritting my teeth, and almost yelling the words of the songs at Him. I was singing, but I felt like I was about to break. And even though I was upset and angry, the very act of worshipping Him in that room softened my heart and gave me hope when I literally felt hopeless only minutes before. Without a doubt . . . Worship changes things.)

  2. No matter what obstacles we face, our purpose remains the same. Just because things seem insurmountable, that does not mean our calling has changed. The enemy loves it when we doubt who we are and where God wants us. He loves to whisper in our ears, “You need to quit fighting. Give up.” But those whispers are lies. Remind yourself of God’s faithfulness. Remind yourself of where He’s brought you from and where He’s brought you to. Remind yourself of what He has told you about who you are. The enemy comes against you the with the most brutal of blows when you are closest to victory. Do not lose hope, and don’t you dare give up.

The enemy comes against you the with the most brutal of blows when you are closest to victory. Do not lose hope, and don’t you dare give up.

If you’re struggling with discouragement, please know you are not alone. Know Jesus sees you and loves you and that He is behind the curtain, working things for your good even when you can’t see. And know that despite all the chaos and disappointment, you are still worthy of your purpose. Fight hard. Move ahead. Believe hope is just around the corner. Know Jesus is for you.

I have personally felt the weight 2020 has ushered in, and I truly believe it has the power to crush us beneath if we aren’t actively seeing connection with Jesus and praising Him through this crazy storm. Find ways to connect. Find ways to praise. When your heart is connected to His and your mouth outwardly declares His glory, hope has this crazy way of showing up out of the darkness when you least expect it.