Merciful Gifts From God in 2020

Woman in Mask Holding a Daisy — Photo by **Gustavo Fring** from **Pexels**

It’s amazing that we have a holiday each year to remind us of what we have to be grateful for. I think it’s when many of us start to reflect back on the year we’ve had as well as how we saw God’s hand in our lives.

All year, it’s so easy to get caught up in distractions, frustrations, and exhaustion. We hear so much negativity and anger. We experience pain. But remembering our God brings us back to what’s most important and reminds us that we are never alone when we walk through trials.

This year has been hard for a lot of people. But looking back at this year, we can see some of the mercies that have come because of what this year has been. God’s mercy comes in many forms, and when we look for the good in this year, we’ll be able to see His goodness as well.

Mercy #1 – Hindsight

Ignoring the hindsight jokes here… Hindsight really can be a great mercy. When we look back on the past, we can see what we need to change, what’s worked well for us, and the things we learned that we couldn’t see in the moment.

It may not always be easy or pleasant to look at things in hindsight because we may have to face our mistakes, imperfections, and flaws. But without that hindsight, we would not be able to progress.

Hindsight is a gift from God that we’ve been able to experience a lot of this year. The changes to our schedules and lifestyles forced us to look at our lives before the changes and ask what was really needed and what needed to change.

Mercy #2 – Refining

As much as we sometimes wish life was simple and easy, it just isn’t. The purpose of life is much grander than simply existing in uninterrupted contentment; our purpose is to gain eternal life with our Father in Heaven by following our Savior, Jesus Christ.

But that purpose can’t be fulfilled if we aren’t tested and refined.

We aren’t perfect. We all have flaws and temptations and struggles. But Christ has made it possible for us to change. That’s what refining is – changing for the better. And yes, it can hurt. Metal is refined in fire, and we are refined in experiences that are equivalent. It’s completely understandable that we’d feel incapable of continuing through those things.

But we can with Christ. He’s been through it. All of it. Everything we’ve ever experienced. And because of those refining experiences, He knows how to help us through them as well. That’s actually another mercy we’ve experienced this year…

Mercy #3 – Succoring

Christ doesn’t leave us to suffer alone. I know so many people have faced incredible trials this year. Many have felt alone, broken, and terrified. But I’ve also seen Christ step in with healing and peace for so many people.

Christ loves healing and fixing and performing miracles. And even when it seems like He isn’t doing those things, He’s beside you, preparing you to face whatever’s ahead. I think we’d all be surprised to see exactly how much He helps us every single day because His love and work are constant.

Christ loves us – you and me. His love is eternal and reliable. He’s loved us all through this year, and He will continue to love us without change. Christ will love us even when we don’t love Him. When we turn to Him, He can use our faith to bring about literal miracles in our lives and in the world. He’s the One who can and will make all things good and right in the world.

And He’s already working to do so.

Look for the Good

There are so many mercies from God I could list in this article, but I wanted to highlight these three because these are some of the greatest mercies I’ve seen in this year. This week, and really every week, let’s take some time to remember the great mercies of our God.

I think if we all take some time to think back over 2020 and look for the good in this year, we’ll come away with a new perspective. Instead of 2020 being the worst year ever, we can look back at it and see it as the year Christ succored us, refined us, and helped us see His light and truth. We can say that it was the year of unexpected blessings and mercies from our God.

So what mercies have you seen this year? Let’s look for the good together and share that goodness with others.