Tuesday Reflection, November 24, 2020

God Gives us Hope.
Just imagine a nation oppressed by more powerful nations of the world. They are desperately in need of deliverance but their cries for help is unheard by the other stronger and more powerful nations around them. This was the situation of Israel as they were help captive in Babylon. In time however God who heard their cries and had been with them throughout this period, gave them the release they needed and they were able to return to Jerusalem, the holy city, home of the temple and center of their religion. Just as their capture and captivity had been know the world over, so their return and re-establishment was now also seen by the entire world. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Psalm 98: 3.

There are three things that gives us hope this week as we reflect on Thanksgiving and prepare for Advent. Firstly, God journeys with us through hard times. I have heard so many people hoping there can be a reset for 2020, or wishing there was a way to not add this year to their number of years lived, or even being so scared of what disaster would be next. We have had massive fires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, plagues of locusts, the deadly coronavirus, and much more. While some have impacted specific parts of the world, COVID-19 is everywhere. We have all been impacted at some level. Of one thing we can be assured however is that at no time have we been abandoned. God has been in the midst of it all with us. Just as Israel was reminded time and time again while in captivity, we too need to remember. God reminded Israel through Daniel’s rescue from the Lion’s den, through the rescue of the three Hebrew boys, and through the positioning of Esther to bring about their rescue. God has reminded us by sustaining us through this turbulent year. God never abandons those who love and trust him, even, or especially when we find ourselves in the direst situations. Jesus’ promise to the disciples still holds true for us today. ‘I will be with you always, even to the end of the ages’. Also relevant to these times is God’s promise through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 43: 2 – 3. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Secondly, God rescues us in time. This is about God’s timing, not ours. We are thanking God that in time, God acted on our behalf and we were not allowed to get to an irreparably state. Note that God never acts in accordance with our expectation and timing, but whenever God acts, it happens just in time. The woman with the issue of blood in Matthew 9 had suffered for 12 years, the man at the pool of Siloam suffered for thirty-eight years and I would think he waited there for most of that time, seeking the help he needed. There are people around us who have been waiting for years. You may be waiting for your breakthrough for many years, but I encourage you today, do not lose hope, do not lose heart, God will rescue you and he will rescue you in time. When we see how God’s plan for salvation was carried out, we should gain hope. Paul explains in Gal 4: 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son.

Thirdly, God re-establishes us on time. God’s journeying with us through time and God’s rescuing us on time is in order to re-establish us on time. To be re-established is to be brought back into God’s favor, to enjoy God’s blessings. There is no hiding this away. Everyone who sees you when you are down, everyone who mocks, laughs, turns a blind eye, behaves indifferently, will see and know that God has changed your circumstance, has changed your life. Everyone will see you move from, captivity to freedom, from sin to grace, from sickness to health, from poverty to wealth, from condemnation to redemption as God rescues and re-establishes you. Indeed all the ends of the earth will see God’s salvation as God works to establish His church and his saints. Keep us trusting God friends as we wait in expectant hope. Things may be tough now, but God has a plan, and He will see us through. Amen.