Monday, December 4, 2006
O come, O come Emmanuel…
We all have hopes, we all expect that somehow things will become better and we will reach the perfect solution for all our problems. Yet we remain troubled that we aren’t getting over the problems as quickly as possible.
Israel had waited hundreds of years for God to restore it to world leadership, and in the meantime, it had been conquered repeatedly and even had much of the population deported to exile in foreign countries. The Jews remembered the glory of David’s kingdom and their covenant relationship with God. When they thought of God’s Messiah, they immediately called to mind “the good old days.” In essence, Israel wanted to repeat the past, as through nothing had changed in the world in those hundreds of years. Perhaps they had neglected the prophet’s words: “Stop dwelling on past events, and brooding over days gone by. I am about to do something new; This moment it will unfold. Can you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19) We do cherish the past; but God doesn’t stand still! How will we be able to perceive those “new things” God is doing? WHAT NEW THINGS HAS GOD BEEN DOING IN YOUR LIFE? Dr. John Clifford
Prayer: Lord, we cling to what has gone before; it becomes a weight keeping us from rising up and walking with You into your Kingdom. Today help us still the voices of the past and begin to listen for today’s sounds of growth. Amen.