“Thus says the LORD: “Again there shall be
heard in this place—of which you say, ‘It is desolate, without man and without
beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate,
without man and without inhabitant and without beast, the voice of joy and the
voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the
voice of those who will say: “Praise the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good,
For His mercy endures forever”— and of those who will bring the sacrifice of
praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to
return as at the first,’ says the LORD.
– Jeremiah 33v10-11
Wow! The first day of 2012 is here. I am not one for resolutions, but
the new year should always give us pause to reflect on the last year and look
forward to the next.
I am challenged by this passage. As I read the various news sources and
look deeper into the world situation I can find myself getting just a little
frightened. The future is very unclear, and it really does not look good.
Further economic collapse is very possible. We may face a situation like the
Great Depression. When I look at that it can be frightening.
When Jeremiah wrote these words Judah was beyond that point. Jerusalem
was desolate. The city, God’s city, was desolate. There was no one roaming the
once bustling streets. No animals jostled each other. The people had been
carried away captive into Babylon. It looked like it was all over.
And yet a voice was heard in the cities. It was not a song of woe and
lament. It was a voice of joy, a voice of gladness. It was like the voices of a
newlywed couple. There was a voice of hope.
What did the voice say? ‘Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is
good, and His mercy endures forever.’ There was a ‘sacrifice of praise’ to God
in the midst of destruction. They knew that God had promised that one day the
nation would return.
We have even more of a reason to offer up a sacrifice of praise in the
midst of trouble because those of us who are saved know that we have eternal
hope. We know that this is not the end. We don’t have to adopt the world’s mind
set and give ourselves over to the doom and gloom.
I hope that no matter what this new year brings my voice will be one
that calls out ‘Praise the Lord, He is good, and His mercy endures forever!’
God is good, every day, all the time.
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