Bumps and Potholes Ahead
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace” Numbers 6: 24 – 26.
That is my prayer for those of you who read this.
May our loving Lord be gracious to you in this new year. That is His nature so you can resolutely depend on it.
May He give you peace. Keep in mind you can’t have the peace of God until you have peace with God. In the dawning of a new year determine you have established peace with God on His terms. That is, you trust Him to the extent that you commit your life to Him and dedicate your life for His use. Once you have established this peace with God comes the salvation’s flood of the peace of God.
In his biography, While I’m On My Feet, Dr. Gerald Kennedy notes that “We can assume only two positions in the presence of God. One is on our knees, saying,‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’; the other on our feet, saying, ‘Here am I! Use me.’” When you do you will find His face shining on you. That is a metaphor referring to Him blessing you. The result is peace with and the peace of God.
A reporter interviewing the renown General Norman Schwarzkopf spoke of the general’s background of having been in the middle east as a child with his dad. The reporter asked if he thought he had been prepared to lead the allied forces in the Persian Gulf War. Modestly he replied, “I wouldn’t claim to be chosen by the Lord. I’d just say that somewhere along the way, His hand was working. I think part of being used by God is just the willingness to be used, to say, ‘Here I am; use me.’” He got that right. It is a worthy response for each of us to make today.
With peace established with God you can face each day confidently. In his book Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan’s character Christian is depicted as seeing two threatening lions near the road on which he was traveling. He equivocated and contemplated returning from where he had come. He didn’t. As he got nearer the lions Christian saw chains about their necks. The lions could get near the road but could not reach travelers on the road. The teaching of God’s Word is, “Fear not! March on!”
You can expect bumps and potholes in your road through 2024. You can also expect God’s peace and a way through them. Fear not. He will make a way through. It is imperative that He be followed. If you follow Him you will find He will be gracious to you.
It is to that end I pray, “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace”