Eye exam time comes for me every January. So a few weeks back, I drove over the hill and enjoyed the thrilling experience of an eye exam. During the Eye exam, the doctor kept saying the same thing over and over, “is it number one or number 2” as the lenses focused in and out, dialing in the correct prescription for me. At one point, I always ask myself, how does she know based on the 20 different times I said 1 or 2 what lenses to prescribe? My anxiety about this mystery is usually calmed once I fill the prescription, and low and behold, I can see!

As the New Year began, I found myself waking up many mornings with my mind quoting Psalm 103.

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;
3 Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;
4 Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
5 Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

““Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:31–34, NASB95)

I saw a meme the other day that asked if we should be worried that the year after 2020 is 2021. Its meaning was to sound out 2021 as 20 twenty won. In some ways, we can all relate. 2020 was a rough year, and yet if we are willing to admit it, there were probably a lot of good things that happened in 2020. They just seemed to be overshadowed by the continued onslaught of fear-mongering, bad news, and the biggest interruptions and changes to our society and lives that I’ve seen in my lifetime. But where should the believer keep our hope? The answer is obvious, and yet the Bible is filled with example after example of people of faith, forgetting where our victory and hope come from.

God is not seeking worship. God is seeking worshipers. (see John 4:23) Last year at this time, we looked at this in-depth. We found out that God brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt because He was seeking worshipers. God sought after the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. Each of us has a story of how God sought after us. God is daily seeking and finding worshipers.