Psalm 126: 1 – 2
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, it was as if we were dreaming. Then our mouths were filled with laughter and our tongues with joyful songs. Then the nations said, “The Lord has done spectacular things for them.”
I claim this passage on behalf of our generation. We have been challenged. We have a global pandemic which has claimed many lives and upended our lives for most of the year. The weather has been tumultuous, and that is probably an understatement. There have been tornadoes, floods, typhoons, hurricanes, fires, mudslides, earthquakes, unseasonable temperatures and all of these in unprecedented numbers and unusual places. If there is anything you can say about 2020 is that it has been unprecedented. Things have been so unpredictable that they are almost becoming predictable. What would be unusual? That is probably what is going to happen. Record fall warmth and snow before Thanksgiving. Yep! You are getting both, and in the same region. It’s nuts. And that isn’t all, but it is enough.
People are stressed out, no doubt! But here’s the thing, whether you are in the Philippines getting thrashed by typhoons, being swarmed by locusts in Africa, shaken by earthquakes in Turkey and Greece or dealing with record numbers of Covid cases, God is good and He has not abandoned us. We will be as these ancient song smiths who proclaim the year of Jubilee, the restoration of God’s people.
We should have the biggest New Year’s celebration ever, though virtually rather than congregating in large numbers. Still, it is a time to rejoice. Never have we been so happy to say good-bye to a year like this year. In the good-bye to 2020 we embrace our restoration and God’s good graces, “filled with laughter and our tongues with joyful songs.” Start thinking about God’s deliverance. Start anticipating it and thinking of how it will feel. Celebrate the Lord and His goodness. We will say and others will say of us, “The Lord has done spectacular things for them.”
