When you see this number that represents a year that has quite frankly been the quagmire of all years, what do you think? What words do you use to describe it? What do you feel? 

I’ve had numerous meme’s and jokes sent to me about 2020 and how awful it’s been, how unknown it’s been, how the end of 2020 can’t come to an end quickly enough, etc. And like everyone else, I’ve enjoyed a chuckle and often times can relate to the feelings of exhaustion, frustration and uncertainty being portrayed. 

But, what if 2020 is not about sickness, death, discord, anxiety about the unknown, endless plans being thwarted, an awful virus that has made the whole world come to a screeching halt? 

What if 2020 is about VISION?? 

We’ve all heard of “20/20 Vision”, which is the measure used to express the clarity or sharpness of vision. Interestingly, 20/20 vision is not considered perfect vision, it is considered normal and the goal of glasses or contact lenses is to bring a persons vision to the normal of 20/20.

The definition of vision is this: the ability to think about or plan the future with wisdom, the mode of seeing or conceiving, discernment and foresight. It is the state of being able to see. 

The most important sense is vision.  Vision allows you to see where you are going, to see danger coming towards you, it makes you less vulnerable to things around you, it allows you to connect to your surroundings, it provides the most information to the brain and it helps to maintain the sharpness of our minds. 

Can it be that everything that has happened in 2020 is an opportunity for us to get clearer vision? To bring our vision back to normal?

The events of this year have caused us to absorb and to adjust to information at a rate that has exceeded normal. We’ve been forced to make huge changes to our every day lives in a very short space of time. We’ve had to adjust to the ever changing rules and regulations that promise to keep us safe. Almost every aspect of our lives no longer looks like it used to and it’s caused our vision to skew. 

I think it is safe to say that in 2020, many of us have lost vision, we’ve had so many things getting in the way, so many things caused our vision to blur. 

Proverbs 29:18 says “Where there is no vision, the people perish” NKJV

In the ESV version, it puts it like this: “Where there is no prophetic vision, the people cast off restraint”

God’s vision is perfect. It has not been altered or impaired by the things going on in the world. He is unwavering, He is constant, His word is unchanged and is as true in 2020 as it has ever been!! In the midst of all the chaos surrounding us, God’s vision for us is still clear. God’s sovereignty, authority and vision are not limited by the circumstances that we find ourselves in and He is not surprised by the events that we are facing. He is all knowing, all seeing! 

Perhaps it’s time for us to regain and refresh our vision, to realign our vision with God’s vision in order to be able to see clearly again, to get back up and to be in a state of being able to see and step forward into 2021. 

God has perfect vision, all we need is 20/20 vision, but if our eyes and hearts are closed to God, we have no vision and may as well navigate life blindly. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to “Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”.

“Write the vision, make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay” Habakkuk 2:2-3 ESV

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope” Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

“The Lord opens the eyes of the blind” Psalm 146:8 NLT

“Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you” Ephesians 1:18 ESV

“Open my eyes, to see the wonderful truths in your instructions” Psalm 119:18 NLT

“Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is bad, your body is filled with darkness” Luke 11:34 NLT

“For nothing is impossible with God” Luke 1:37 ESV