Tomorrow, we will have already completed one month this year – and that’s almost impossible to believe! But this is a time of year that I really like. It’s past the Christmas season and all the decorations are put away. And I have completed the 4th quarter business reports and annual filings for the fed and the state…
I have also purged the old files and created folders for the new year. In fact, I took a number of old, out of date, papers to be shredded last Friday. It’s all good. The bank reconciliations have been completed, the bills have been paid and the top of my desk is completely clean. It feels great.
During this time of year, there is no gardening to do, no lawn to be cut and no perennials to plant, fertilize or prune. Furthermore, it’s not time t0 mulch, set up the fountain, wash the lawn furniture or clean the grills. So… the earth is resting during its time of hibernation and so am I.
This is the time of year when things slow down – almost to a crawl. Usually, I have a long list of things to accomplish and this small window of time is a welcome change to our normal routines throughout the year. I’m not going to waste it!
In fact, the only possible thing that may have to be done is to blow or shovel snow should the need arise. Not that I am looking forward to that, but I can deal with it. I did have to take the car to have a tire patched yesterday, but let’s face it, it doesn’t get much easier than that. And writing this post is the only real thing that I had to accomplish today after church. As I said before, it’s all good…
The 107th Psalm is one of my favorites. It is the story of God’s people who go through cycles of getting in trouble, calling on the Lord for help, experiencing God’s lovingkindness and then praising Him – that is, until they need to call on the Lord again during their next time of trouble. This psalm reminds us of “hosad” – God’s mercy and repeated lovingkindness to each of us. Our verse for tonight deals with an excerpt from this great psalm – in fact it references exactly the kind of calm that I am speaking of tonight. The psalmist tells us, in Psalm 107:28-32, “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.”
My encouragement this evening is that God’s “hosad” is available to each of us in times of stress, discouragement or just when we sit back and bask in the love of the Father. My prayer is that we will all take advantage of these times when the world seems to stand still, our work is caught up and we can relax as we worship the Creator of everything. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…