The famous Port of Alexandria, once under the command of Alexander the Great, fought over by Mark Anthony and Julius Caesar. Held by the Byzantines then ‘Amir Ibn al-‘As, and Saladin. Shores washed by waves of history. Yet the truth remains: Our God reigns.
I remember being so concerned for our country six years ago. I remember exactly where I was standing as I watched the green-blue waves of the Mediterranean coming ashore one by one in Alexandria, Egypt.
Oh what those shores have witnessed through the centuries! I also felt the timeless rule of our God at that moment. His mighty sovereign hand at work from the Pharaoh’s rule and the Exodus of the Children of Israel, the conquest of Alexander the Great, the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the days of Marc Antony and Cleopatra and the rule of Hellenistic Greeks.
The rise of Christendom, the first major split between Arius and Athanasius in the first council of Nicaea, and the rise of Byzantium, the rise of the Arab conquest and the persecutions that followed.
As we look at this year, we are so taxed with the calamities obstacles and dilemmas of 2020. I wonder how we need to enter into the holiday spirit.
I don’t know about you, but I find that I need personal discipline to set my heart and mind on Christ.
David too wrote of his complaints before the Lord, but in Psalm 121:3 he writes these comforting words; “He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber.” Isaiah 40 reminds us; “Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God’ ”? Do we feel that way today? Our country’s leadership, the feeling of helplessness with a virus pandemic, economic hardship and financial insolvency…So many questions cross my mind in these days.
As we enter into the Thanksgiving season, strengthen your heart with this: Our hope is in the Lord and in our eternal God, the ever vigilant God, watchful and powerful. Remember the word “omnipotent?” This is our God. Reassure your heart in Him. “..but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength…”
I know that you can finish that verse but please don’t do so until you hear the word Hope. Those who Hope in the Lord… who is the Lord? The Omnipotent One, The God All Powerful. That hand that turns nations to do his bidding, raising rulers up and taking them down. The Omnipresent One, “I will never leave you or forsake you. He is always there. The Omniscient One, The All Knowing and Ever-Conscience God, knowing the beginning from the end of all time and space. His plan is perfect, and he is never taken by surprise. He knew everything about this year and how it would affect you personally before you have even entered into the New Year.
Join me in the reciting The Old Hundredth Psalm…
“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with Praise.” Reflect not on the What of 2020, but He Who Who Rules Over 2020. – John W. Cook CEO
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth… he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46 NIV