Today’s Reading: Job 12-14; Psalms 100; Revelation 13
As I become more mature and received a little bit more wisdom, I take this time of the year to reflect on the past, and to see how I have grow over that year. In reflecting upon the blogs and the stories and the experiences that have been shared here on this platform, I have become a better person.
“Only grant me these two things, God,
and then I will not hide from you:
21 Withdraw your hand far from me,
and stop frightening me with your terrors.
22 Then summon me and I will answer,
or let me speak, and you reply to me.
23 How many wrongs and sins have I committed?
Show me my offense and my sin.
24 Why do you hide your face
and consider me your enemy?
25 Will you torment a windblown leaf? –
Job 13:21-25
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalms 100
The dragon[a] stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. – Revelation 13: 1-3
In today’s reading, there is so much noise and confusion and chaos that upon first glance, you would become disengaged. But when you allow the spirit of God to mentor to you and to open your eyes to the full picture, we can see that in the midst of all of the chaos in our lives, we can still give thanks to God.
In the reading of Job, Job is struggling in a midst of his calamities and his trials. He is praising God with one voice and at the same time he is mad at himself. How many times throughout this past year have we had similar thoughts? How many times this past year have we been in the chaos that we did not understand why we were?
The next passage is Psalms 100, which is a profound Thanksgiving song. This song gives me such hope. Hope for the past, hope for the present, hope for the future. It is given thanks to God in all things. This is a testament to David and the spirit of God being with throughout his lifetime . We have the luxury of having spirit of God with us currently, but David had the heart of God. In the midst of all of his trials and heartaches, David still gives everything to God in praise and thanksgiving.
In the final reading, Revelation 13, we are presented with a couple of unknowns that are told by John. When you read this chapter, you can become distraught and dismayed, but we know the ending of revelations we see that this God has overcome the evil.
So as we wind up the year, let us reflect on how God has already seen the end for us. Allow us to find peace in the knowledge that there will be calamities and trials and strife that we will endure this lifetime, but let’s be assured that we have a hope in Christ who has already completed the battle for us.
Let’s go to this new year with our spirits filled with hope and prosperity, joy and peace.
Be Blessed