Look

As I reflect back on 2021 I can not help but be a little saddened. It’s a year all of us would have found difficult with the threat of Covid-19 hanging over us, like the proverbial bad penny. Life was not as it used to be. In many ways it is a distortion of what it should be, and yet this is life. Life to be lived and embraced, well maybe not so much of the embracing! As a hugger I’ve missed being able to hug my friends and those in need of comfort. Boris Johnson cry to ‘keep safe’ and ‘to keep the two meter rule’ has, in the main, been heeded. Then we could get closer as long as we were wearing a protective mask, but not too close! Then have been so many restriction and rule changes it’s been hard to keep up at times. 

‘This far the Lord has helped us’ (1Samuel 7:12) but with all journeys there has been tears along the way, but there has also been joy. For me the birth of a grandson, and the news of another little one on the way. There’s been breaks away and exploring along the Devon and Cornwall coast. There’s been many a walk in the woods or across the fields, down tracks I’ve never ventured before. There has been time to sit, and to gaze, and to wonder. There has been more time to simply be, and more time to hang out with the Creator and hear his voice through the wings of a butterfly, or the bleating of a sheep, or the bubbling sound of streams and rivers, and the roar of the ocean. 

In many ways my senses have been heightened and fine tuned. It has its advantages when it comes to listening to and sensing God. The disadvantage comes when I’m left on ‘high alert’ and the constantly covid risk assessments are left dancing in my head. We have all needed to keep grounded and I’m sure we are all that little bit more resilient for ploughing on through such difficult times. 

As I look forward to the journey ahead and what 2022 has in store for me I wonder who will come on that journey with me? Where will we go? What will we find along the way? Will it all be an uphill struggle? Will there be fun along the way? The good thing about climbing hills and mountains is the view from the top. Psalm 24 asks, ‘Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?’ The invite is to all of us. There may be things that have to be worked out along the way, but that’s OK. Grace and mercy are offered in abundance. (Have a look at the Psalm if you wonder what I’m talking about.) 

Will you come and join me in my journey through 2022? The territory is unknown, we have not been that way before, but ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’ and I have no doubt he will continue to do so. 

Psalm 24

Psalm 24

 

Picture yourself if you will in ancient Israel.  It is early autumn and the sun is warm on your back.  The birds are singing above your head.  You drink in the beauty of the landscape. The fruits of the field, pomegranates, figs, olives, and grapes are all ripe for the picking.  Sheep and goats are grazing on the hillsides.  The stream meanders its way through the valley.  All that lies before you was created by God, and it still belongs to God.  The God who created the chaos of the ever moving seas also created the stillness and order of the land.  The God who created all of those things created you, and knew you before you were born.  He knows the number of hairs on your head and your name is written on the palm of his hand.  You are loved by the creator who deals with the business of the day, and yet still makes time for you.  He has all the time in the world for you, you are his child. 

Today is a day of merriment and excitement, the trumpeters are out and the crowd is singing songs.  You stand in amongst the crowd that pushes and pulls you through the valley.  The dust from the road covers your feet and gets into your clothes, and hair, and eyes.  But you don’t care about that you follow the crowd as they sing.  You need a drink of water, but there will be time for that later, you sing at the top of your voice.  You love to praise your God.  You follow the crowd as it winds happily through the olive trees that smell so wonderful and up into the hills.  The journey is tiring, you feel out of breath, but you keep going.  The music and the crowd’s jubilance keep up your morale.  The trumpeting and clashing of cymbals and the rhythm of the drum help you to keep pace with the march.  Many are dancing, many are laughing, and all are joining in the song.  You will get there soon enough but you really can’t wait.  The eagerness bubbles up inside of you; like a waterfall it wants to spill over.  There is no holding it back.  There is no holding you back.  You are going to meet with God today.  You are going to meet with God today.  You are going to meet with God today!  What will he tell you?  What will he want of you?  What is the next stage in your journey of life? 

You reach the foot of mount Zion, you are there!  In the distance your eyes can see the enormous barred gates, the entrance to the temple.  Will you be allowed in?  We shout up ‘Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?  Who may stand in his holy place?’  The gate keeper responds ‘He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.  He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Saviour.’  We affirm these conditions by shouting back ‘such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.’  We climb the hill. Out of breath we enter its ancient gates.  We enter the temple.  Here is our God, here is our maker.  Here is our Lord and Saviour.  But we feel small and insignificant in the vastness of his Temple.  Are we really worthy to enter God’s presence?