Can you believe 2020 is nearly over? It seems as if it were yesterday that we were celebrating 2020’s arrival. Now many are anxiously anticipating its end.

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Right after the nation went into a lockdown due to Covid-19, it’s almost as if something shifted in the atmosphere. A tangible sense of fear was evident not only in the nation, but in the church as well. From that time, we saw churches shut down, businesses slowly close their doors, schools close, and grocery shortages. And now we are now seeing a war for the soul of this nation play out. It has been a rough year for the entire nation. I believe the Church’s faith was being tested in many ways in 2020.

Like everyone else, I’m no stranger to hardships. This year we faced our own battles. My husband nearly lost his business. We almost lost our home. My son became very sick and needed emergency surgery.

While in the hospital with my son, I received a call that my husband was hospitalized. Several family members tested positive with COVID-19. I hadn’t seen my family and really missed them. Our city was shut down and we could only have online church service at that time. I felt disconnected and cut off from the world. It was extremely lonely and depressing at times.

I have gone through trying times before. I have felt loneliness before—it’s an important part of my testimony. Something about 2020 amplified those feelings in me. I felt like that young girl with abandonment issues was trying to rise back up again. I had to constantly war against that lying spirit. I know I was not the only one because I read reports that depression and anxiety had tripled in the midst of COVID-19. More than once I definitely felt like my faith was being tested.

What was the key to overcoming when it looked like everything was against me? The game changer for me was the presence of God. Though it was extremely hard, I had to trust that God is omnipresent, meaning no matter what I faced, He was there. Whether I felt Him or not didn’t change who He is. There were times I felt God was distant, though I know he wasn’t. He is faithful to keep His Word and His Word promises He is ever (always) present.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Ps 46:1)

I love this Scripture. It doesn’t say He is present only when things are going great, though He is present then. It says He is a very present help in trouble. He is present when we are sick, just as he is when we are healthy. He is present when we are lacking, just as He is when we are walking in abundance. He is present in the darkest valley of our walk, just as He is when we are on the mountaintop. 

If you want to pass life’s tests, I offer you one word: Trust! This is a total reliance on God. His promises never fail. They are yes and amen! His character is tried and true.

With a new year coming we may see the motto “new year, new me” tossed around here and there. Instead I say, “New year, Same God.” He is I AM! He is the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. He is omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), and omnipresent (all places at once).

Let’s give thanks that God never changes. He is more than enough. He alone knows the beginning from the end. The I AM, the omnipresent one, is already in the future. Because He is already there, you can trust Him.

But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, “You are my God!” My future is in your hands. (Ps 31:14)

Through every trial, every tear, every question, every mountain and valley, God was, and is, and will be constant. He is not the great I was. He is the Great I AM.

But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

God replied to Moses, “I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.

(Ex 3:13-15 TPT)

We have all heard the word “unprecedented” countless times in 2020. It was a year of things never seen before, a year of record-setting and record-breaking. If you are reading this now and 2020 tested you, refined you, knocked you down, made you re-examine your priorities, made you take a deeper look at your relationship with God, then take a deep breath. You made it! There were probably times you felt like throwing in the towel. Maybe there were times you wondered if your prayers were making a difference. They did and they still are. Give God the glory! He never left your side and He never will.  Even the tests you faced this year were not without purpose. The Bible tells us that testing, though not fun, builds character, maturity, and produces the God kind of faith. I believe that every test is an opportunity to trust.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (Jas 1:2-4)

So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed. (1 Pt 1:7 AMP-C)

Trials are a part of life everyone will go through. Christians must remember that we are not immune to trials and tribulations.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. (Ps 34:19)

The word affliction means “something that causes pain or suffering.” This Scripture says that those who are righteous will face affliction. We will face times of pain. We will feel as if we are suffering, but God promises to deliver/save us from them. God never promised our walk would be easy, with no struggles. He promises to show up and deliver us from that which is afflicting us. We are going into a new year and the trials will still be a part of life; however, fix your eyes on the Lord. When we face troubles, despair, get knocked down, but arise and go forward, the life of Jesus shines through us. The trials won’t last forever, yet they produce a glory that is eternal.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.  We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.  Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. (2 Cor 4:8-10)

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! (2 Cor 4:17)

If you are worried about 2021 and what it will look like, He is the God of peace (Rom 16:20).

If you were financially impacted this year and if you are still struggling, He is the provider of all your needs (Phil 4:19).

If you or your loved ones have battled sickness and disease, healing has already been paid for by Jesus. He is your healer (Is 53:5).

If loved ones you’ve been praying for seem to be getting farther from God, don’t give up. There is no place they can hide from God’s presence. He is a deliverer (Ps 139:7-12)!

If you feel loneliness, know that you are never alone. God hasn’t left you to fend for yourself. He will never leave you (Dt 31:6).

When you feel weak and inadequate, there’s nothing you will face that Jesus didn’t also face—He’s touched by our weaknesses. His grace is sufficient for you (2 Cor 12:9).

He is I AM! Everything you will need is in Him. You will be tested, but God can be trusted.

For every problem you face, God has a promise.

As you pass your test, you become a source of nourishment and strength to those who are facing trials just like you.

As we are coming to the end of the year, let’s not look back, but rather move forward. The only thing to take from 2020 is what you’ve learned from the trials. Let the tests of last year become a new year’s testimony.

He does not fear bad news, nor live in dread of what may happen. For he is settled in his mind that Jehovah will take care of him. (Ps 112:7 TLB)

Author Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor to listen to her podcast Something To Share. (Photo Credit: Unsplash.)

How have you seen 2020’s tests be used as a testimony to encourage others? Share in the comments!