Hamilton Wright Mabie said there’s “no pause in the march of the universe on New Year’s Eve,” yet “no man has quite the same thoughts on this evening” as on other nights.
As we say good-by to 2024, an unusually tough year for many people, Psalm 62 continues to resonate in me:
1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. (ESV)
Notice the choice of words in verse 2: “I shall not be greatly shaken.” That doesn’t mean we will always face life calmly when it pulls the rug from under us. It doesn’t say we’ll never feel crushed by daunting odds or crushing losses. The Hebrew word for “shaken” means “to totter, falter, shake, slip, be moved.” But the word before it tempers that insecurity.
Our world may shake and sway, but it won’t crumble. How can we falter but still stand? Because verse 1 promises God is greater. “From Him comes my salvation.” The words literally read, “from Him comes my Yeshua.”
Yeshua. Jesus.
We just celebrated that. Or wanted to.
Christmas may not have brought people peace like they imagined it would. Its glorious message may have been dimmed by loss. The day may have been darkened by the loneliness of yearning for family.
Those are very real hurts. But they don’t negate God’s words. For that we can be eternally grateful—because Psalm 62 means more than “God is in the business of fixing things.”
He’s in the business of abolishing sin’s eternal consequences and restoring us to Him forever.
Joel 2:25 talks about God restoring the years the locusts ate. He said that in the context of restoring Israel’s blessings after they repented. Some hardships befall us from us choosing to trust ourselves more than we trust God. But even when we are faithful to God, the locusts can eat what we hold dear.
In Joshua 1:2-3, God gave the Israelites all the land from modern-day Turkey in the north to Iraq in the east, Palestine/Israel in the south, and western lands to the Mediterranean Sea. Today Israel occupies only a tiny slice of that land, but that doesn’t negate God’s promise.
Similarly, our temporal vision can see only a sliver of what God is doing … and what He will restore to us.
Not every form of restoration will happen this side of heaven, but I know with certainty that God always makes good on His promises. Our trust in Him can supersede what we understand of Him because God promises He is always up to something greater than we can imagine; it’s always in our best interest even when it’s not what we expect, and His intentions cannot be shaken.
His ultimate demonstration of that was in sending Christ into the world to conquer everything that would stand between us being with Him forever. God gave us His best so we could become our best—now and forever.
The Wise Men “rejoiced exceedingly” when they saw the star shine on the house where Yeshua was—and when they saw Him inside, they worshipped Him. Let’s pray God’s promises with confidence, rejoice in Him regardless, and worship Him as we step into 2025!
Get my free newsletter and early access to every blog!
BONUSES:
> Check out my book, New Star. It’s a great read for January, when many churches celebrate Epiphany to commemorate the Magi’s visit to Jesus.
>> Here’s a recent guest blog I did on what the Wise Men can teach us about taking risks.
>>> I discussed New Star in this 12/18/2024 interview with Deena Adams.
Leave a Comment