At Christmastime we read the prophecies of a soon coming King ...
Coming to give us hope. Coming to give us comfort.
"Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. "Speak tenderly to her and proclaim to her."
During this holy season we've encountered a world filled with terror and mourning. "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
That was the world in which Christ was born. This is the world where He still lives. We are His hands and feet. We are His voice of tenderness. Hands that serve those whose burden defy description. Feet that walk toward the mess and give grace. And a voice to pray.
Let's pray ...
Father of comfort, Lord of life
Once again, we've witnessed the fallen-ness of our world.The evil that sends kids to coffins and parents into dark tunnels of hopelessness. May we rise up to give hope and peace.We must confess through tears and moments of disbelief that the battle is not over.The enemy is not simply a villain of bones and flesh.It's the spirit that turns us from joy to hopelessness.It is a serpent in a garden.It is a sneering giant.It is an evil that caused nations to crumble and hearts to grow cold.It's the fear of the chaos and heartache untold.May the brokenness of the world break us.May the grace of the Lord remake us.Comfort the community of Sandy Hook Elementary.
We ask your spirit to reside in their homes of unfathomable agony.Kindle our spirits.Compel us to pray.Sing over this weary world.And may we join in with comfort.Comfort, comfort your peopleIn the Name of the Savior who was acquainted with grief.
(Scriptures from Matthew 2:19 and Isaiah 40:1.)
A Psalm of Encouragement in Times of Fear
"The one who lives under the protection of the Most Highdwells in the shadow of the Almighty.I will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress,my God, in whom I trust.'He Himself will deliver you from the hunter's net,from the destructive plague.He will cover you with His feathers;you will take refuge under His wings.His faithfulness will be a protective shield.You will not fear the terror of the night,the arrow that flies by day,the plague that stalks in darkness,or the pestilence that ravages at noon.Though a thousand fall at your sideand ten thousand at your right hand,the pestilence will not reach you.You will only see it with your eyesand witness the punishment of the wicked." Psalm 91:1-8 (HCSB)
God Treasures our Tears
"You Yourself have recorded my wanderings.Put my tears in Your bottle.Are they not in Your records?Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call.This I know: God is for me." Psalm 56:8-9 (HCSB)