Let me ask you, could this be more than just a “New Year.” Could 2021 be the beginning of a whole “New Thing?” For many 2020 left us confused and frustrated wondering what was it that I was suppose to have learned from this crazy year? We know we’ve all had to change but have we really gotten ahold of the change that was made in our lives? I felt 2020 was a, “Potter’s Wheel” spinning us around and around unable to really get a handle on what was happening to us. A “Potter’s Wheel” that was intended to transform us by the Holy Spirit. It was a launching pad for all of us to learn something new about “How God works in our lives.” The question is, have we?
Reality is, 2020 was a year of separation where God was trying to separate our loyalty between HIM and the world. Separating our double-mindedness and put back a single-minded focus on who Christ is in all our crisis, where important decisions have to be made. It was a dividing of the things we held on to and believed in. It seemed everything was challenged as we were separated from our church family, our favorite restaurant, our schools, our sport teams and sport events, our family and friend gatherings. This year, I’ve discovered when God wants to create something new HE always separates. It’s in the separation that God can bring the personal revival and great awakenings in our lives. It’s separation we see in Isa. 43:18-19, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold I do a new thing, now it’s springing forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in your wilderness and bring rivers to all your deserts.”
Through-out the scripture we see separation used by the Holy Spirit. Noah in Gen. 6:1-5, we see the people begin to multiply and the Lord saw that human wickedness was great on the earth and everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So what did HE do? He asked the only Godly man on earth to separate himself and build an ark. Taking 100 years to build, I bet his separation from wickedness was tested. Jesus in Luke 4:1-13, we see Jesus after getting baptized by John separating Himself from all others, going into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights being tempted by the devil. Three times the evil one tried to compromise our King in vs. 13 we finally see Satan leaving, looking for another opportune time. It shows us the devil hates it when you learn how to separate yourself from evil and temptation. He’s relentless as 1 Pet. 5:8, states he’s a great enemy always prowling, roaring and seeking someone to devour. So how do we secure our separation? James 4: 7-9, gives us the keys. FIRST, Submit (accept, yield and agree) with God. That’s the only way we can complete step TWO, Resist (withstanding the action or effect) of the devil. Resisting is a struggle but if we do what Jesus did using His authority in our lives demanding the devil to get behind us as we use the Word to counter the devils challenges we will be safe. With those two keys of separation, the devil has no legal right on your life and has to flee (leave for another opportune time). Remember he’s always roaring around seeking whom he my devour, that’s why we need to THIRDLY, Draw close to HIM so HE can draw close to us. It’s in a repositioning of our lives, getting close to HIM that a cleansing of our hands and a purifying of our hearts can take place.
Question: Are we holding on to the 2020 things that God has tried to separate you from as we enter 2021? Are you stuck in a story that seems not to have a conclusion?
Key Thought: 2020 brought our entire world into a season of separation. We had no choice in the matter. Unfortunately, Covid-19 is still causing world-wide separation. We are all waiting for a vaccination that hopefully allows us to return to normal. However, God’s purpose for this separation wasn’t to get us back to normal but a NEW THING, a NEW PLACE, where we understand how to separate ourselves from the former things and old ways in our lives. There’s are two other times in history that God uses a world-wide separation on earth, both found in the Book of Genius. First, in the creation of the world where separation allowed creation. The Second separation, was the flood with Noah and the ark. Here we see, a recreation of the world, we know today. I’m wondering, are we being readied for a THIRD separation where the church gets separated from this world 🙂
Victor Alinen 