2015 comes to a close today and tomorrow, by God’s grace, we will begin 2016. My mind can’t help but reflect on the year that has gone by. The events that have taken place, the people I have encountered, the challenges faced, and the blessings experienced. It is so healthy and good to take time to reflect, to allow space for my heart to worship God and remember all He has done.
1 Samuel 7:12 “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” (Stone of Rememberance)
Psalm 78:4 “We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.” (Recalling faithfulness)
For most of us, if we fight against the cultural norm and stop to reflect, we will encounter some feelings of frustration. Things that didn’t happen in 2015 that we had hoped would (perhaps for many reading it is an adoption that has not taken place yet). In this frustration we have two choices. One, to be angry. We can feel self-pity and let frustration cloud our reality. Or two, we could realize that God does not sleep and the true reality is that His plan continues to be unfolding. We don’t have to read very far in scripture to see this truth. God is on the move, often while His people fear they are forgotten.
King David comes to mind. He was privately anointed king by Samuel (1 Sam. 16), yet, it would be years and years before He would see this realized. What was he thinking when he went back to tend his father’s sheep after his anointing? Or when He was sent on a menial errand to bring his brothers’ provision in battle? He did not know that his little task would lead to a huge moment in his nation’s salvation! He was still not recognized as King of Israel when he sees Goliath and chooses to believe in God’s power. Even after being the victor in slaying Goliath, he doesn’t see his Kingship realized. No, he becomes a harpist for King Saul. This is just one example, of many, where God’s people need faith (“Now Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Heb. 11:1).
May we choose to walk in Faith today as we reflect on 2015! May we choose to believe the truth that God is on the move in our lives and the world around us! May we find great hope in recalling His past faithfulness to us and the generations before us!
