When my youngest son was 18 years old he asked me a question I wasn’t prepared for. It was a question I hadn’t heard from my oldest son when he was 18 or from my two girls when they were 18 either. The question was this; “Dad do you think there’s going to be a draft?” I hadn’t really given it any thought but after he asked, it stirred up all kinds of emotions in me. It sent me back to when I was a kid and one of our neighbors was serving in Vietnam (Yes, I’m old). I think I was around 10 at the time but I remember a certain feeling of dread. I remember lying awake at night wondering if I would be drafted when I turned 18. I wondered if I might end up heading off to war like my next-door neighbor. When my son asked me that question it was the first time I’d thought about those sleepless nights in over 40 years. I pulled myself out of my trip down memory lane long enough to try to utter some words of comfort and assurance, but I realized I had no idea what the future would hold for him. I can only imagine how unsettling it was for him at that time of his life. He was probably wrestling with some of the same thoughts and fears as me when I laid awake thinking about my uncertain future so many years ago.
As we begin this new year there is a lot to be unsettled about with regards to the future. With all that’s going on around us, we could choose to hold the view I heard from one of my son’s 18 year old friends, as he pondered the state of the world; “We’re doomed”. Or perhaps we could all stand to read the words from Psalm 29. As I read them I find myself feeling strangely hopeful despite that 18 year old’s pessimism. I find myself holding onto these words with a sense of hope and comfort and I offer them up to you as we begin this new year together.
The Lord sits enthroned over the cedars.
The Lord shakes the wilderness.
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood.
The Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people.
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
As this new year begins there is an unsettled nature to so much going on around us. And yet while we can’t know for certain all that will take place, we can be certain that we have a God who sits enthroned above it all and will give us strength for the journey wherever it takes us. May we head into this year knowing that while we may not know what our future holds we do know who holds our future. May the Lord bless us with peace along the way.
