2022 the Year to Take Back Ground by Michael L. Brown for Ask Dr Brown
I write these words as a declaration rather than a prediction, as a proclamation rather than a prophecy. Put another way, I’m issuing a challenge and encouraging a faith-filled mindset: let 2022 be a year of taking back ground!
It’s clear, of course, that every year is mixed, with progress in some areas and regress in others.
And it’s clear that, until Jesus returns, this world will be messed up, marked by pain and suffering and sin.
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But that doesn’t mean that we simply accept defeat as inevitable. Or that we embrace a mentality of hopelessness. Or that we develop a theology of pessimism (as in, “It’s only going to get worse before Jesus returns, so why even bother to try?”)
Absolutely not. To the contrary, as I’ve emphasized countless times before, the Bible encourages us to have the mentality of overcomers and victors. And our perspective is, no matter how dark the surrounding world might be, God’s light shines in that darkness – and the darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5).
And so, as we start this new year, I want to encourage you to look for ways to “take back ground,” by which I mean, to look for ways to turn things right side up. To make a positive difference. To undo something Satan has done. To recover something that has been stolen (I’m speaking metaphorically here). To turn a negative into a positive. To win a victory where there has been defeat.
If not now, then when? How much more dire do things need to be before we see a concerted pushback?
In the coming weeks and months, I plan to document as many of these victories as I can during my daily radio show, keeping a running tab of encouragements and positive reports. And even though there will surely be many setbacks, the more we can focus on the victories, the better our attitude will be. The stronger our faith will be. And the greater our vision will be.
And these victories will come in both secular and spiritual settings.
Last year, country music star Morgan Wallen was cancelled after a neighbor filmed his drunken rant in which he used the n-word while talking with a friend.
As reported by Christian Toto on the Daily Wire:
- His record label suspended him
- iHeartMedia yanked his songs from the massive platform
- Cumulus Media did the same, as did Pandora and SiriusXM
- CMT canceled his music
- The Country Music Awards disinvited him from its annual showcase
All this happened despite no accusations of racism in his past and despite a very humble, heartfelt apology. He also “donated $500,000 to various black causes.” And, “He admitted himself into a rehab facility and shuttered his upcoming concert tour.”
Yet this was not enough for the cancel censors, and the door slammed shut on this young talent.
Except that it didn’t. As Toto notes, “He crushed 2021 by having the number one selling album of the year, ‘Dangerous: The Double Album.’” From cancelled to number one!
What’s more, teaming up with the black hip hop artist Lil Durk, Wallen is now on the top of hip-hop charts with their song, “Broadway Girls.” What do you know? (For the record, I’m not celebrating this song as if it were gospel pure; I’m celebrating the pushback against cancel culture.)
