May the mumbling commence!
Today, we close out the last chapter of the year 2012. It is a time to reflect. What things have come unto us this year – what sorrows, what joys? Do we feel closer to our Lord? Or do we feel further away?
Psalm seventy-eight is a recollection of the Hebrew people of their dealings with the Lord. We can learn a lot about ourselves from remembering. What brought us the most anxiety this year?
Was it the shootings at Newtown, Connecticut and Aurora, Colorado? Was it the presidential election cycle? Was it the lost of a loved one or the loss of a job? Was it the strife caused by natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy? Was it human disasters made in other parts of the world?
What brought us the most joy this year? Did you or I mark some rite of passage this year? For me, it was becoming ordained this past summer. Did you or I reestablish connection and relationship with people who were becoming estranged? Did you or I get to fulfill a lifelong dream?
A better question would be: How did you and I respond to the tragedies and triumphs of the year? How did we tell the difference between the two? There is often a fine line between tragedy and triumph, and that fine line becomes even more blurred when we allow the wisdom of the world to mix with true wisdom that comes only from God.
Yes, we wander from God like lost, stupid sheep. Too often, it is pain not pleasure that causes us to return – to return to be where we should always be. We should never have left in the first place. Wandering from the Lord is as old as humanity itself. Read a passage from Psalm seventy-eight:
When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
For He remembered that they were but flesh,
A breath that passes away
and does not come again. (Verses 34-39)
Pain often calls us back to the Lord. But, what attitude do we bring when we come back? Do we think: “How little can I do and still please God?” Do we wish to keep our own agenda as much as possible? Do we seek to flatter God with token sacrifices and offerings of worship?
When we hold back from God, we lie not only to God but we lie also to ourselves. It is a faithless act to refuse to surrender to God completely. Thank God for His great mercy and compassion – or none of us would survive. Thank God for the lifework of Christ Jesus, which continues through us and many others even today.
Let us jettison our own agenda and seek God’s agenda. Let us seek together the revelation of the Lord. This revelation will help us to discern the godly from the merely good. This revelation will help us to know when tragedy or triumph has occurred. Then, we can find true happiness and joy in the Law of the Lord. Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-nine:
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;
But happy is he who keeps the law. (Verse 18)
May it be so in the coming New Year.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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