CHANGE, FEAR, AND HOPE!

 

Sunday, December 27, 2020

 

CHANGE, FEAR, AND HOPE!

 

Josh 3:3-5

3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.

4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord  will do wonders among you.

 

           We are just a few days from exchanging the old year to the new. Three things capture my thoughts: change – hope – and fear. 2020 has been a very stressful and difficult year for many, and change is both welcomed and feared. Hope is encouraged but it is weakly expressed.

 

           Change may have come in the form of empty chairs due to the tragic and sorrowful death of family members and friends. Other chairs, usually vacant, are now filled because of loss of employment. Nothing brings change like a new baby but even this can bring stress along with joy. Nothing is so unchanging as change.

 

           Uncertainty almost always encourages fear. It is why we dip our toes into the water before plunging in headlong. It is why investors are often called speculators. Uncertainty is the travelling companion of change. Uncertainty also travels with eager expectation which leads us into our third thought of the day.

 

           Hope is the expectation that things will turn out well. Sometimes it is based only upon itself. Hope in hope! In better times hope is based upon calculated circumstances and trends. It is what turns speculators into investors! The best hope is based upon solid character – such as the hope we have in Christ.

 

Heb 6:18-19

18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

 

Dear Lord, we cannot stop change. We ask for help with our fears as we place our hope in you and your solid character. Thank you for your steadfastness toward us. AMEN