Perhaps it may turn out a sang,
Perhaps turn out a sermon.

-- R. Burns Epistle to a Young Friend

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Be Sure



The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.  -- Psalm 121:8

As humans here on earth, we are constantly coming to the end of things and beginning new things.  A phase of life finishes, another starts.  We are creatures of transition and fluctuation.  Many of us may find that we have regrets about the past, struggles in the present, and fears for the future.  We should have foreseen and planned for the current situation years ago.  Now we are trying to overcome obstacles in the path we are on while wondering if more drastic changes await us next week or next year. 

There is one constant, one dependable, unfailing anchor to which we may cling.  The Lord is with us whether we are going out of the place where we have been safe and comfortable or entering a new place of uncertainties and unknowns.  The good news is that we do not need to worry so much about security and stability in a world that is insecure and unstable by definition for, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

The book of Hebrews which talks so much about Jesus as our great High Priest reflects what the psalmist says.  The earthly priests of Aaron’s line stood in the sanctuary, offering, every day, always more sacrifices to atone for the sins of God’s people.  Yet, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4).  The sacrifice of Christ did take away sin and had to be done only once for all (connected into eternity and done eternally by the one act):   But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:12).  We are thus kept by God from the moment of Christ’s death on the Cross and forevermore. 

As we go about our ordinary and mundane lives here on earth, the hand of God is upon us for protection and blessing whether our transitions are easy and gradual or sudden, disruptive and terrifying.  



5 comments:

julie said...

Amen, and an timely reminder. Thanks, Mush.

mushroom said...

I need reminding sometimes.

John Lien said...

Thanks Mush. My capacity for adapting to change is diminishing. Used to kind of like it.

These days, change makes me rely more on Jesus, so I guess it is a good thing.

mushroom said...

He's working on us. Age is part of it. We were too tough when we were young. We needed to be tenderized.

Kind of like a good steak.

Rick said...

A-1 advice there, Mush. Thanks.