The end of the calendar year could not be more welcomed to many of us after such a life-altering, world changing and tumultuous 2020. It’s like the football team who’s first half has just been so disastrous that the half time break is a welcome reprieve in an effort to regain some composure and start again. My sentiments are not too dissimilar with the hope that the close of this year and the start of a new one would represent a regaining of some normalcy and improvement.
At the risk of sounding somewhat bleak and pessimistic, the fact of the matter is, there is no guarantee that next year will be much better or that it couldn’t be worse, if not for society at large, perhaps in our individual lives. There is one thing that we can count on however, and put our whole trust in… God’s goodness and promise to be with us and for us. And if God is with us, then regardless of the situation we find ourselves in, it will always… always be alright!
Faith is so simple, yet immensely and profoundly powerful that without faith it would be impossible to please God. Even though Abraham wasn’t perfect, yet he was considered righteous because he believed God, taking Him at His word. The ultimate demonstration of the trust that he had in God was when he called him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Filled with such confidence that when speaking to his companions, Abraham declared that he and his son would return together from the sacrifice. No longer reluctant to take God at His word, Abraham proceeded to kill his son in obedience to God just before God’s command stayed his hand. You talk about trust. It was the lack of trust that ultimately kept Moses and Aaron from entering the Promised Land (Num 20:10). It was the lack of faith that kept David from realising his desire to build the temple of God. Not to say that these men were failures but they were human and missed certain experiences due to their failure to trust God.
In all that we’ve gone through, one thing we must hold steadfast; “That no matter what, I will trust you with my life”. Trust God!
“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.” Mark 11:22