Christmas 7. 31 December 2013

image by Richard McMillan

by Kaysi Hastings

Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!

Psalm 111

New Year's has been one of my favorite holidays for as long as I can remember. The idea of having a clean slate has always been so refreshing to me, so I love New Year's for all the blank pages it represents; however, I also love New Year's for its invitation to reflect. Looking back at how God's hand has worked in and around me at the end of each year helps me to find meaning and purpose in both my joys and my trials. The psalmist here speaks of remembrance, both on the part of humanity in remembering the wondrous works of God, and on the part of God in remembering His covenant with His people. Perhaps taking time to remember the Lord's goodness is a profitable way for us to invest in our relationship with Him as we approach the end of one year and the beginning of another.

Sometimes, though, God's goodness seems to be veiled from our vision. 2013 has been an unusually difficult year for many people in my life, and sometimes when you've been bombarded with pain it is challenging to try and uncover the good in what has happened. I don't think God expects us to pretend we're unaffected by the difficult blows life deals us. We often look to Romans 8:28 for hope, and indeed God is able to bring beauty from even the worst of our experiences. But that doesn't mean He wanted us to go through every heartbreaking circumstance we face. We live in a world broken by sin, sickness, and selfishness. These were not a part of God's design, and I don't believe He expects us to mask the heartache we face as a result of them, even if He calls us to trust Him in spite of them.

As I reflect upon 2013, I can say without hesitation my greatest joys as well as my deepest sorrows were tied to the relationships in my life. The relationship we share with our heavenly Father may be reliable and consistent, but our human relationships are often sources of disappointment and heartache. God cares about this, and His precepts, which the psalmist calls "trustworthy" in today's text, provide us with avenues toward restoration. An idea that helped significantly reshape my thinking last year was the concept that "in Christ, all relationships are made right." Author Allison Vesterfelt wonders "if this is why Paul urges us in Scripture not to let the sun go down on our anger --- not because it makes God happy (although it probably does), but because he knows it will make us happy. Perhaps he knows our deepest desires, as well as our deepest regrets, come from the same place: Our connection to others." I wonder if the psalmist didn't have this same thing in mind as he acknowledged the goodness of God's precepts...he recognized they were designed to foster whole relationships, a major source of our peace.

As we walk through life with God, we are blessed by His faithful presence, but we also are blessed by His Spirit's empowering to pursue peace with others (Romans 12:14-21). This will not always play out in happy relationships, because we can't control whether the other person in any relationship pursues peace, but it will lead us toward freedom as He helps us to let go of anger and bitterness, leaving our hands open to receive good things from Him and others. A God who cares enough about us to design life to work this way is one Whose goodness is well worth remembering as we reflect on the year behind us and welcome the one ahead. May 2014 be a year of hope as we remember the goodness of our God, as we love Him and as we walk in His ways, as we live in pursuit of restoration and healing amidst the brokenness.

Take some time to consider the following. Perhaps it would be helpful to record your responses in a journal.

How have you seen God work in your life and in the world around you this past year? What disappointments and heartaches have you faced? How have you seen His goodness in spite of these things? (Perhaps the fact we can be honest with Him about our pain is itself evidence of His goodness.)

Here is a prayer in response to today's text. You can pray this as your own or use it as a prompt for a spontaneous prayer.

God, as we look back over the past year, we are so thankful that You care for us in our joys and in our pain. As we look to the year ahead, help us to remember Your goodness and faithfulness that lead us toward peace and freedom when we walk with You. Help us to trust You no matter what we face.