Once more we have come to the end of a year. The question may properly be raised, Can you say with the psalmist, what he said in Psalm 119:65 ? There we read, "Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word...."
Looking back on the year that ends today, can you say what the psalmist said in absolute sincerity? Or was your year full of grumbling and complaining, murmuring and expressing disappointments? What happened in your life this year that is coming to its close today?
Indeed, there are events that bring us grief, sadness, and tears. Our Savior Himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus, and groaned when some of the Jews said, "Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?" They did not understand His weeping and groaning. It is not always sinful to weep because a loved one is taken away, or when you are in deep pain.
The big and important question is whether we, because of what happened this year, doubt God's mercy and wisdom. How sincerely can we say, no matter what happens, that God has dealt well with us? How sure are we that all things work together for good to us? Do we agree with what Paul wrote in Romans 8:28 ?
The end of all things is near. And the end of this year reminds us that an end is coming to time, and to this present world in its present form.
Our calling is to believe this truth presented by the psalmist, and to confess this before the world. All is well for God's people. Sing then and rejoice because all that happened and will yet happen was and is God dealing well with His people. The end of this year assures God's people of the beginning of an endless age of covenant fellowship between God and His people. The end of this world reveals the end of a world of sin. Do you want to have sin brought to its end?
Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Malachi 3; Malachi 4:1-6
Revelation 22:1-21
Psalm 150:1-6
Proverbs 31:25-31
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Quote for Reflection:
"…If then we desire to come to Christ, let us not be ashamed to follow those whom the Lord, in order to cast down the pride of the world, has taken, from among the dung of cattle, to be our instructors." – Calvin’s Commentary (Luke 2)
Additional Info
- Date: 31-December
