2020 Vision

At the start of a new year, many of us look for that power word. There is something about a new year that ignites the flame in so many – the possibilities just seem, well, more endless than usual. What will be different this year than last – what will be better? Goals, dreams, accomplishments.

2020 just had that ring to it, you know? 2020 vision! This is the year!
It will be amazing. Well, no matter who you are, 2020 can definitely be deemed “unforgettable.”

Hope

As our country started to shut down due to Covid-19, there were moments where I was on fire with hope. Despite the fear and uncertainty that people were experiencing, I saw so much unity and appreciation for the simple things in life. People gathered to sing worship outside of hospitals…neighbors decorated homes for Christmas in April to spread joy throughout the streets. Though there may have been physical isolation, there seemed to be love, unity and warmth spreading through music and random acts of kindness, not just within the US, but throughout the world.

The Shift

Then, things shifted. I felt a bit disheartened in all honesty. Okay, extremely disheartened is more like it. I truly believed we would see the “light at the end of the tunnel” around Easter… life would pick back up and maybe this time we would have learned some lessons on what things to leave off of our plate moving forward and which to scoop bigger helpings of, like faith, family, and friends. 

Instead, more events started to occur that created mass chaos and division. With each passing week, according to media sources, it seemed we were getting more and more divided. Accusations spread quickly over the character of individuals – one side was deemed cowardly sheep, while the other just selfish & not caring for the well-being of others. It seemed like people kept shouting, yet nobody was listening.

“United we stand, divided we fall”… the latter seemed to be hitting too close to home.

Longing for peace

For someone who so longs for peace within myself and for others, the pain of witnessing the world around me was just too deep many times. I kept praying and honestly asking, God, can you help me see “You” in this place and trust in what You are doing?

If there is one thing I have learned, in not always in the easiest ways I will admit, is that His timing is not my own – it hardly EVER is. The important thing to note is Father meets us where we are. When we don’t get all the answers right away, He reveals them when we are ready. He lets us see what we are truly prepared to see.

Over time, I started to notice issues coming to light… like layers of scales being removed one by one from my eyes. Things happened around me, but also within me.

One particular night, I had a dream involving towers. I could see some were like a refuge, safely protected. Some were so high, they could see all that was going on below from a wide, extensive view… a higher perspective, if you will. And last, there were some that seemed as though they were barely holding together.

These towers truly had such significance to me in regards to what was stirring up in my spirit!

The Watch Towers

These reminded me of a lookout tower – one of protection. It was so high up nothing could reach it. There was definitely an advantage to this tower. You could see ALL views. I just imagined looking out from this tower over our nation and having better understanding. Seeing ALL the bits and pieces of the puzzle.

The Towers of Refuge

This reminded me of a place of peace, knowing one was protected within its walls. It stood tall and secure and you could just be at rest here.

The Crumbling Towers

You could see several attempts were being made to plaster these towers back together, without success. The shortcut methods to repair were seemingly on their last legs. They were old, decayed, rotten and it was time for them to go. They may have been pleasing to the eye on the outside, yet the inside was different. Some were clearly just rotten, while others were just not made of a durable, lasting foundation.

So what do the towers have to do with 2020?

How do we align with the three towers?

• We ask to see from the watch tower that is high above – this is the tower in which we receive 2020 vision. We see through a lens of love, justice, mercy and righteousness. Kingdom perspective.
• We cling to the promise that we are safe and secured in the tower of refuge, in the heart of the Father. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10)
• We declare that the crumbling towers with rotten foundations fall at once. Let new, strong, pure foundations be built up.

So, when standing in a time such as this, may we let go of the mindset that we need a do over for 2020. I believe that scales are being removed… now the celebrations of 2020 may not have contained the career advancements or checked off bucket lists dreamed about on January 1, YET, what if it is something better? Something we would never have been able to fathom or even see until now?

“See I am doing a new thing; do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19

I believe, in fact, that 2020 has been just that… a year of new vision… taking off the blinders. Truth after truth after truth being revealed. Matters of the heart being exposed. Darkness being exposed, giving the opportunity for light to BEAM through!

United we stand is the promise of God. Divided we fall is a tactic of the enemy.

Spoiler alert: the latter is never victorious.

Rub those sleepy eyes, friends, and let’s stand and declare 2020 vision.

Embrace the NEW.

Blessings,

Miriam