You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance (Psalm
65:11, NLT)
As we go through this unprecedented time in history, I am reminded of
the passion of Christ and especially the events that occurred during his
crucifixion. It was nothing short of chaotic for the disciples and all other
followers of Jesus, but also for those who asked for Jesus to be crucified. How
do I know? The gospels account that at midday when it is normally bright with
the sun at its peak, darkness came over the earth lasting three hours. The veil
in the Holy of Holies was split into two from top to bottom, a rock splitting, earth-shaking earthquake occurred, the graves opened with many dead saints (people who lived and died
expecting the Messiah) coming back to life and out of their graves to be plainly seen after Jesus’
resurrection by many people walking in the streets of Jerusalem
(Matthew 27:50-54, Mark 15: 37-39). Now, if all that was not
chaotic, you tell me what is.
However, something
jumped out at me as I studied this passage with my The Bible Story (TBS) class
during the lockdown. It was the acknowledgement of Jesus as the Son of God by
the Roman military officer who was stationed by the cross: ‘When the Roman military
officer who was standing right in front of Jesus saw how he died, he said,
“There is no doubt this man was the Son of God!’
Mark 15: 39, TPT). Hey! The non-Jewish officer saw, realized, acknowledged beyond the shadow of a doubt, right there
in the midst of the chaos, the divinity and divine status of Christ- not just
the humanity of Christ, because the inscription bearing the charge against
Jesus for which he was crucified read “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews”. In
the midst of the chaos, when it seemed like all hope was lost and the heavens
had caved in on the disciples, and the other inhabitants of the land could not make sense of the
events happening in quick succession from an eclipse of the sun to open graves,
there was this low ranking Roman officer, we would never hear nor read about him again in scripture, who experienced a God-moment. One thing we know backed by scriptures is that no man
who ever acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God ever remains the same again.
May I challenge you today to stop
and reflect on the events of the year 2020, especially since the pandemic
struck to identify those God-moments in your life and acknowledge them. Those moments will reinforce your faith and put steel to your conviction going
forward, that even when it does not seem like it and we do not see it, God is
working and causing everything to work out for our good- that divine provision…
that healing… the preservation and protection, that unexplainable peace... “But Silas, I prayed
and asked for this but that happened” Well, for all I know it could have been
worse…but for God.
As we begin to
draw the curtains on the year 2020, I encourage you to hold on to Psalm 65:11
quoted above. Make it your confession and trust God to crown the year with a
bountiful harvest.
Trust Him that those hard pathways you trod in 2020 won’t be in vain but
that they will
overflow
with abundance.
I call you
BLESSED!
We always love to
read from you! Do share with us in the comment section one or some of the
God-moments you have had since the pandemic began. Remember, your testimony
will be an inspiration for others.
