Monday Reflection – January 03, 2022 Beginning with God
Monday Reflection – January 03, 2022 Beginning with God
You, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not forsake us! Jeremiah 14:9
We have marched into a new year! To God be the glory! To have survived 2021 is sufficient to give God more than 10,000 praises. I witnessed so many illnesses and death in 2021; so many persons experienced unprecedented challenges. But we have made it, and all praise and glory belong to God. 2022 is before us, filled with opportunities yet with challenges. We march forward with God as leader and guide.
Jeremiah 14 captures a period in Judah’s history when they were afflicted by droughts. Sustained or multiple droughts were always a life-or-death issue in ancient societies where most made their living by farming. Drought was also a special issue for ancient Israel and Judah, because the often-worshipped Canaanite idol Baal was thought to be the god of weather and rain. Many ancient Israelites were drawn to Baal worship because they wanted rain. It was also thought that the Lord’s purpose in sending drought was to bring the nation to repentance. This led to confusion and despair by the people as they covered their heads. The Orientals cover their heads when in the deepest grief, as David did, when he went over the brook Kedron. Charles Spurgeon says that this means, ‘I cannot face it. Do not look on me in my sorrow, nor expect me to look on you. I cover my head, for it is all over with me.’
Fortunately, the people never stayed in this state of confusion and despair. They rose up and offered true repentance to God. It began with an utter confession of guilt and an appeal to pure mercy, not what they deserved. They were very aware that only the Lord’s mercy could save them. Having approached God with humility and repentance, they appealed to God by reminding Him that He was Israel’s Hope and Savior, and asked Him not to be a stranger to them in their great need. In this appeal we find today’s Watchword, as the people reminded God that He was near to Israel, in their very midst, and that they did belong to Him. They called upon God to act upon that nearness and identification. These reasons should be sufficient for God not to forsake them.
We know not of what 2022 will bring, perhaps drought and famine, sickness and death, pain and sorrow, disappointments and heartaches. Whatever we may face, a good place to start and a great practice to exercise is to turn to God with humility and repentance; to recognize our state of sinfulness and plea for God’s mercy. As we embark on a new year, may we march forward knowing assuredly that God is always with us and invites us into a loving relationship with Him. May we remember that God will not abandon us. Let’s follow in His footsteps as we seek to become more like Christ and do His will.
I leave you with the usual New Year thought that I have found ever renewing at the start of each new year: I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, “Give me a light so that I may walk safely into the unknown.” He replied, “Go your way and place your hand into the hand of God. That will be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
Happy New Year everybody!
Jermaine Gibson