Watch Bethlehem!
I Chronicles 28:20 “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God – my God – will be will you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.”
2 Peter 2:7 “…and delivered righteousness Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)…”
Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from old, From everlasting.”
Psalm 106: 1 “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
Some days I find myself in turmoil from competing emotions – love/fear, hope/despondency, belief/practicality…and I wonder when or IF God will do anything about my concerns.
My eyes are on the circumstances and the people about me. My thoughts are racing from rationalizing to judging, from deserving punishment to pleading for mercy, from expectancy to acceptance of disappointment. Too often, I crash and burn, screaming “I’m done!”
Doesn’t God hear me? How much more can I bear? These raging wonderings result in quiet despair, and I settle into heaviness. Why? Do I not know that my God is with me? When did I lower my eyes from the heavens and drag my weakened mind through thorny paths of lost hope? Like Lot, I stand helpless, tormented. All I can pray is “Have mercy on me, oh God.”
And every time – no, I mean it, – EVERY time – I look to The Savior, born in a manger, Who not only died for the world, but died for me, and Who was resurrected and now lives and rules and intercedes for me. I lift my eyes to the heavens and wait. I watch. I remember to expect the goodness of the Lord.
Then I chide myself and say “Why are you discouraged? Your God will never forsake you and never leave you.” I know this. And then He comes – EVERY time.
Watch Bethlehem!
Sixty-six books in a year 