Happy New Year 2021 – Have An Attitude Of Gratitude

A Happy New Year to you. What a year 2020 has been! It started normal, and then as we progressed into the month of March, it became everything but normal. To this date, it has been a year filled with great challenges, and the incredible thing is that the challenges were not just here in Trinidad and Tobago. In fact, we haven’t gotten the worst end of it – thank God for that! – but we have had challenges throughout the world because of this covid-19 micro-organism, and it has really changed the way that we live and the way that we communicate with one another.

No one knows really but God what 2021 will bring us. We can only hope for the best. I want to challenge us all as we go into this new year, to do so with an attitude of gratitude. Go into 2021 with an attitude of thanking God, no matter what comes your way. I am reminded of a couple scripture passages that I’m sure you know very well. One of them would have been with Paul and Silas when they were imprisoned for proclaiming the Word of God. The Bible tells us that while they were locked away in prison -like many of us are because of this pandemic – they did not stay there wallowing in self-pity, but while they were in prison, they sang hymns and praised God. The Word of God tells us that there was a tremendous earthquake that shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and the chains fell from all the prisoners (ref Acts 16: 25-28). They were set free! They praised God even in the middle of their challenges.

There’s another story that I’m sure you’re also aware of. It’s a store about three men; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who refused to worship the king’s false gods, and they were thrown into a fiery furnace that was made seven times hotter than it normally would have been. These three men fell, bound up. into the fiery furnace. And they walked in the heart of the flames, praising God and blessing the Lord. (Daniel 3)

So I really want to encourage us, as we go through 2021 not knowing what is ahead of us, I beg you to have an attitude of gratitude. The outcome of 2021 – the outcome of life – depends on you and it depends on me. It depends on our attitude.