And it was very good!
Genesis 1 v 31 - God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
And so, we come to the final Sunday of 2020. I am sure that this time last year, in 2019, we were all busy thinking and planning for what 2020 would bring? But I can also say with some certainty, that many of those plans have not come about! I am sure that 2020 will be a year we will never forget. A year when all plans were scuppered. We have rebooked our flight to the UK 3 times, and have now been advised we need to cancel and start afresh.
“Afresh”, that is a great word for such a period and is something our God is a master of, and something for which we should be so grateful. The Bible is full of stories where God gives people and communities the opportunity to start afresh. Indeed, we all had that opportunity when we committed our lives to Jesus and had our sins forgiven.
Rom 3 v 22 – 24 - There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus
In times of uncertainty, it is good to ponder on those things which are certain, and there is nothing more certain than the wonder of God. I was going to write… “if you have time…. then take time to read Psalms 8”, but why wait until we have the time, let’s read together these wonderful verses now.
Psalms 8 v 1-9
1Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?[c]
5 You have made them[d] a little lower than the angels[e] and crowned them[f] with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their[g] feet:
7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Throughout history, humankind, has tried to be in control of all things in which we found ourselves, and today, through advances in science, computing and understanding, I think this was even more the case. That is, until an invisible virus – at least to the naked eye - comes along and brings everything to a grinding halt, and COVID 19 becomes a global word. We are so clever, or so we thought, and then 2020 brings things back into perspective – a “Sodom and Gomorrah” of our age.
But God has not left us and his Name is as majestic as it ever was. At the end of creation God says….and it was VERY good….. not just good, but VERY good. Something of heaven was created on earth, including humankind made in God’s own image. It is all VERY GOOD!
I love the way in Psalm 8 v 2, God emphasises the role of children and infants in silencing the foes
Psalms 8 v 2 - Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger
And perhaps it is not by any mistake that COVID-19 seems to affect young people much less than us old ones. Children are so trusting and at times this can lead them to trouble. I always remember my mum telling me as I left to walk the few miles to school – “Be a good boy now and don’t talk to any strangers!”….. OK, Father Christmas was an exception!
As we look back on 2020, let us do so with the eyes of children. Yes, it has not been an easy year most likely and there are many things we wish might have turned out in a different way, BUT there are also some consistencies, those listed in this Psalm, which have NOT CHANGED. Some may have even benefitted from the recklessness of mankind, especially in regard to the care of our Planet, being put on hold for a while, again this is talked about in Psalm 8.
Psalms 8 v 3 - 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
Psalms 8 v 6 - 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their[g] feet
All the majesty of God, all the creative power of God, and yet….. all the care of God towards men and women – humankind!
Psalms 8 v 4 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?[c]
God is very mindful of you, very mindful of me, and cares for each one of us, and has been each and every second, of each and every day, throughout the ups and downs of 2020. As we close 2020, I hope we are able to say with the Psalmist:
Psalms 8 v 9: Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
I love the use of the personal “our Lord” in this verse. The Psalmist need not have put it there, but our God who created this earth, and the universe within which it sits, is a personal God, stemming right from the fact that we are created in His image, and to coming of Jesus to this earth, 2000 years ago, to redeem the world and save us – you and me – from our sins. None of this has changed since the beginning of time and all is set to be the same throughout eternity!
I want to close by reflecting on a few verses from Romans 8 and I have left in the section title which they use in the New International Version (NIV).
Rom 8 v 18 - 21
Present Suffering and Future Glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
God knows, more than us, that 2020 has been a tough year for humankind. I just know my neighbour, my family, my friends and the few facts I hear on the news. But God knows all the 7 billion people currently alive in this world and also those who have already left, plus those who are still to come. Rather mind boggling, but because of this, God knows 2020 has not been a good year for many. But, from Romans, this situation should not be a surprise to us as it states in
Rom 8 v 20 - For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it….
When God finished His creation, “all was very good”, but then our ancestors decided to rebel against God, to be tempted by the serpent, and to eat from the tree of which they had been told not to eat. Sin entered the world. And this situation has continued up to date, as men and women have the freedom to choose God, to believe in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, or to reject this and to live life for the moment. The decay will end, the suffering will stop, make plans for 2021 in the Freedom that you now enjoy in Christ.
Rom 8 v 34 - 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
What a wonderful fact! As you pray into 2021, give thanks for the steadfastness of God through 2020, for the good things that have happened and also pour your heart out to Him over the difficult things that you have you have experienced in 2020. God is YOUR God, God is MY God – He cares 100% for you, so come before with boldness and be excited for 2021…… and may “and it was very good” be your testimony as you contemplate once again at the end of December 2021.
Rom 8 v 28 - For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Happy New Year!
PRAYER
Questions to ponder:
Be up front with God, and place before your heavenly Father the highs and lows of 2020?
What good lessons have you learnt in 2020? Pray now that you might remember and maintain them in 2021, whatever the year might hold for you.
Challenged by the scriptures in todays message, or elsewhere, write down 3 things you plan to take on in your walk with Christ in 2021.
