This has been a strange year for all of us. One of the words that we have heard repeatedly is the word canceled. Business meetings canceled. Church programs canceled. Sporting events canceled. Concerts canceled. Parties canceled. Family trips canceled.

It has such a ring of finality and loss in it that many people have found themselves riding an emotional roller coaster over and over.

On top of this we are living in what is now referred to as a “cancel culture.” Individuals are cast out of favor and fellowship for disagreeing with cultural norms and politically correct positions. This is not new. Growing up we called it bullying.

Spiritually speaking sin and Satan are the great cancelers. They always lead to an ending. The God of the Bible on the other hand is the God of new beginnings. He leads His people to open doors, not to dead ends.

I have been encouraged recently by thinking about what has NOT been canceled…

1. God’s presence has never been canceled. “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5) When you cannot be with others remember that He is always with you! A child of God is never alone.
2. God’s peace has never been canceled. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). When your thoughts and emotions are overwhelmed by news and need, recognize there is something greater – God’s undeniable, unfathomable, unexplainable peace! Talk to God about your anxiety and give Him praise – He will do the rest.
3. God’s promises have never been canceled. “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:18). When you wonder what the future holds return to the One who holds the future! In Christ the promises are sure – “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
4. God’s plan has never been canceled. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20). When all of your plans have changed realize that His plan for reaching and teaching others has not! Go back to what you know for sure and simply do what He told us to do unto the end.

The next great event in the history of the world is not trending on social media or discussed on the twenty-four hour news cycle: Jesus is coming again! That has NOT be canceled. We have much to look forward to and much to do. Don’t concentrate on what men can cancel; concentrate on what God says can never change.

Let God speak for Himself:

Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 12:26-29