Today’s Scripture Reading (January 1,
2014): Isaiah 58
Welcome to
2014. Another page has turned and we advance yet again, moving forward one more
year. Now the question that we all want to ask is what does this year have in
store for each one of us. And, as with most years, this one promises to be a
mixture of both good and bad. For those looking for prediction, probably the
best that anyone could advise would be to expect the unexpected (as if that’s
possible.) For the past few years someone has been predicting that this is the
year for the big economic downturn, but this prediction seems to fall into the
category of “if you predict one thing often enough sooner or later it will come
true.” But the real truth is that no one knows what is going to happen in the
next year. No one has an inside track to the future. Every single one of us is
meant to live by faith.
Having said
that, it is always fun to make some bold predictions just to prove how fallible
we all are. So – let’s have some fun. The Superbowl will finally be won by the
Seattle Seahawks. They have played well enough this year to deserve the
privilege of bringing the big hardware home. But Seahawk fans need to steel themselves for
an uneasy playoff run, because it is not going to be an easy journey. For the
National Hockey League, the final will be between the St. Louis Blues and the Boston
Bruins, and Boston will win the Stanley Cup – so hang in there Jerome Iginla –
your first Stanley Cup is on the way. For the National Basketball Association,
let’s just say “not the Miami Heat.” I would love to predict wins by either the
Toronto Raptors or the Phoenix Suns, but the reality is the eventual winner
will probably come out of the West and will most likely be one of three teams –
Oklahoma City, Portland or San Antonio. And when Baseball Season returns once
more, look for the Detroit Tigers to still be standing when everyone else has
fallen.
I will
probably be wrong on every one of my predictions (the Seahawks prediction is an
emotional one, especially after the great year they have had– especially at
home), but that is kind of the point. We are not supposed to know what happens
in the future – and what happens in sports is often a microcosm of what happens
in real life. Really, when the best teams in every league play against each
other anything can happen. And that describes life. This is what I know - this
year children will be born, friends will get married and people important to us
will die – and each one of us will be blindsided by both the good and the bad.
But through
it all, God’s promise is that he will be there. He will stand with us no matter
what it is that happens. And when it is the bad that happens, then he promises
to be the rain in the desert, the sun in the middle of the night, an unending
spring for the garden and the calm in the midst of the storm. No matter where
this year is going to take you, you will find God when you arrive at your destination
– this he has promised and he will make it so.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah
59
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