Rejoice and Hope

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 1:57 pm Post subject: Rejoice and Hope

Rejoice and Hope

Scripture:

Give praise, O daughter of Sion: shout, O Israel: be glad, and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away your judgment, he has turned away your enemies: the king of Israel the Lord is in the midst of you, you shall fear evil no more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not: to Sion: Let not your hands be weakened. The Lord your God in the midst of you is mighty, he will save: he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will be silent in his love, he will be joyful over you in praise. The triflers that were departed from the law, I will gather together, because they were of you: that you may no more suffer reproach for them.
( Zephaniah 3:14-18 )

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice. Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh. Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:4-7)

And the people asked him, saying: What then shall we do? And he answering, said to them: He that has two coats, let him give to him that has none; and he that has meat, let him do in like manner. And the publicans also came to be baptized, and said to him: Master, what shall we do? But he said to them: Do nothing more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers also asked him, saying: And what shall we do? And he said to them: Do violence to no man; neither calumniate any man; and be content with your pay.

And as the people were of opinion, and all were thinking in their hearts of John, that perhaps he might be the Christ; John answered, saying unto all: I indeed baptize you with water; but there shall come one mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to loose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. And many other things exhorting, did he preach to the people.
( Luke 3:10-18 )

Reflection:

As we observe the statements of the prophets, we see God continually reaching out to the children of His creation. There are those who are turned to Him, yet, so many who are turned away. His desire is to forgive the transgressions of the people and do great things for them, but in times of grace and plenty, they forget who has looked over them.

We might wonder why the nation of Israel ever struggled in their relationship with God, for in hindsight, we see where God raised them, cared for them and blessed them; and we see the tragedy which befell them when they chose to walk their own ways. Through the books of the prophets, we see this cycle played over and over, but what we may not observe is that the choices of people cycled through many years and generations which have brought us to this very day.

What we must observe is that as years pass, memories fade. In their comfort, people forget who provided for them. They fail to pass the blessings of faith to their children. Generations are created who wander and must learn harsh lessons upon their own.

The great hope for us is that He waits for us with patience. He awaits the faithful as well as the return of those who wandered away from Him. God awaits all the children of His creation, if they but choose to receive His embrace. If our heart is filled with faith, He will know us. The question for the faithful, though, is whether we shall spread the blessings of hope or whether we shall allow ourselves to be silenced to avoid the persecution of the world.

If we choose to remain silent, we may receive the approval of the world and avoid its persecution, but at what cost? If we do not share our faith with our children, we leave them to the world and the path to darkness. Whatever comfort we may receive from the world for our silence will only be for a blink of time, but our silence will echo through the generations and all the hearts we fail. The choice of what we do and of what we say He leaves to us. The world may or may not see, but God will always know what we have done and what we have failed to do.

The desire of the evil one is that we should walk in fear of what the world will think of us, but we should have no fear of what befalls us during our moments in this world if we open our hearts to the One sent to redeem us. As we invite Him into our hearts, we invite the blessings of His love to also be within us. If we lift our prayers to Him, He will not deny us.

John the Baptist warned those who would listen, ?Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.? (Luke 3:9) And so the people asked Him, ?What shall we do?? The answers of John were simple, to do the good things the Lord asks of us and to withhold the evil to which Satan tempts us.

The prophecy of John was that we will be known by what we do and what we fail to do. The world shall see us, but more importantly, God will see us. What we do in His name, He will know and He will remember. Those who share the blessings of the good news of the Lord shall also receive of that which they share.

For every opportunity we have to speak of the goodness of the Lord, for every opportunity we have to pull back souls from the darkness, we should rejoice; for in those moments, we may allow the Holy Spirit to work through us. Especially in times where we feel surrounded by darkness, we should live with hope. In such times, we must see the opportunities we have to touch the heart of another with the blessings of His Word. In such times, we must see the opportunities we have, which abound, through which we may become an example of His love.

As it was in the past, so it remains in this day, the faithful remnant shall remain the light within the darkness; the hope through which peoples and nations may return to Him. As we awake each day, the path we walk is our choice. Let our path be the path of light and love. Let us rejoice and be glad for all which He offers to us. Let us raise up in prayer our thanks and praise. Let us live the example and blessings of His mercy and love.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier