I spent the first week of the New Year in business meetings recapping 2009 and planning for 2010. Meeting after meeting, I was seeing a growing theme.
2009 Recap- Banks collapse; housing market goes to pot; auto industry grinds to a halt; jobs lost; homes foreclosed; significant cuts in income; savings and retirement accounts gone; and a nation divided on politics, war and health care reform.
Overall Consensus- It has been a depressing year
2010 Predictions – Some say more of the same. Some say the worst is yet to come. Some say it can only get better.
Overall consensus- Proceed with caution
To be totally honest, all the “doom and gloom” had me off to a bad start.
Until God reminded me of one of my favorite Christmas songs:
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”
It is an “oldie but goodie” that was re-recorded by Casting Crowns a couple of years ago. In 1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the words to this song when our country was greatly divided by the Civil War. Henry’s words speak of the sounds of war, the hatred among men and the despair and fear that was consuming his world.
Overall consensus- It had been a depressing year
After his recap, Henry ends the song with certainty and anticipation:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail.
Overall Consensus- There is HOPE
The first part of this powerful stanza reminds us that even when everything is crumbling around us, God is not dead, He does not sleep and He is still on the throne. Hebrew 13:8 tells us, “
He is the same yesterday, today and forever.” The second part gives us comfort that despite how things appear, the evil shall fail and God’s children will prevail. Psalm 125:1-2 says,
“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.”
Today is the second week of the New Year and I am declaring a restart! While it is true that we do not know what 2010 has up its sleeve, God is calling all of us to have HOPE. A HOPE that reassures us that our unchanging, all-powerful God is active in our world and lives, a HOPE that will prevail over evil, a HOPE that will not be shaken and a HOPE that will endure forever.
As I restart my year, I thank God for changing my attitude through the words of this 1863 classic song. I also want to challenge us to cling to the verse that appears at the top of this blog:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” -Romans 15:13
Overflowing with HOPE,
Cindy
