What’s the condition of your heart today?
If it’s like mine, it’s torn between wants and needs, amidst emotions entirely scattered, like the LEGO pieces across my floor.
Swirling thoughts, range from Christmas shopping, decorating, grocery shopping and the variety of things on my to-do list. I find it a difficult balance, navigating emotions and all the thoughts that go along with today’s new public health orders.
Trying to cram in that last visit with our families as we prepare for the shutdown, sneaking in that last haircut; it’s an odd feeling, preparing to hunker down. There’s so much uncertainty, especially about the Christmas season. I feel like saying, “it’s only for 4 weeks”….but then what.
We really don’t know.
This is where the uncertainty looms. Where I realize that there's something I'm hoping for - namely for the restrictions to be over and for us to gather as extended families for the holidays; there's no way to know.
We we started going through the New City Catechism with our kids, Question 1 seemed really fitting, “what is our only hope in life and death?”
Yes, what is our hope? When we find hope losing grip in our hearts, as so much ambiguity is set before us. We treasure the Christmas season, and hopefully, it’s because our hearts are set on the celebration of Christ. But now, when things aren’t going to be the same, where do we find that hope?
The answer: “that we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.”
Our only hope. Not found in 1,000 ventilators, not found in a vaccine, nor the day that Covid is vanquished. Our only hope is that we belong to Christ, "for none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself" (Rom 14:7) because we are His.
This can bring us great comfort, knowing that hope is not lost, that our hope is in Christ alone. We will continue to struggle with the restrictions, but placing our faith in God means we know His promises still stand, that He is sovereign over the world, and that our lives are lived unto Him, every day.
And so we sing with David, “now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright” (Psalm 20:6-8).
May we grasp today, with a new understanding, the only hope we have, in our situation, our families and in our world, which is found in Christ. Be blessed today as you enter your day, for the glory of God, and the good of others.
How can you share hope with others today?