How can we move forward?

Starting this year in a lockdown with no certainty and no way of planning for the year ahead has been hard.

I think all of us are looking forward to the restrictions finally ending and being able to resume some sort of normality. It has certainly felt like a long time… but when we do go through these kind of events or even personal difficulties where it feels overwhelming, how can we keep looking forward when it gets tough to hold on.

The Bible shows us many examples of people who had also gone through real hardships, even on a national level.

Thousands of years ago, whole nations were subdued by conquering kings, famines, disasters, and even pestilences. People were often carried away into captivity, separated from their families, and even sold into slavery to serve those that had conquered them. Their situation often looked pretty bleak without any hope of freedom or for the life they once had. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18 that without vision, the people perish.

It wasn’t just the circumstances these people were living under that caused them to perish, they had no vision of a way out. They had lost their hope for their future. In a sense they got to a place where they gave in and just accepted what had happened, and it immobilized them from finding a way out. When someone is in despair, meaning they can’t see any way out of what they are going through, it can be very hard to get them to move forward because they can’t see themselves in a different place. They have lost all vision for their life. This is part of what has been contributing to the rise in mental health issues many people have been experiencing. There has been an inability to plan anything for the future; to visualise what life would even look like in the next couple of months…. So, what can we do about this moving forward?

Lately God has been reminding me that throughout all this, He still has a vision for me for every single day. God was not surprised when Covid-19 gripped the world. He knows and declares the end from the beginning. We may be caught out from time to time, but God never is. Even with all of this going on, even though you may have felt at a standstill in your life, God will always have a plan for you. It hasn’t changed because Covid hit, in fact it may be even more important during this time because yielding to His plan could cause amazing opportunities in the lives of those around you. You could impart something to someone that is really needed; your life could bring hope to other people. Don’t let anything, even difficult circumstances, steal your vision for your life. Let God show you what His vision is and let Him work through you.

We also want to take this opportunity to thank you for all the support you have given to our vision for the life of every child that we serve in the Philippines. It is our belief that we will see these children overcome all the hardships that they have faced and break free from the cycle of poverty for themselves and for their families.