Proverbs 27:25-26 – Happy New Year!

When the hay is removed and new growth appears
     and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
the lambs will provide you with clothing,
     and the goats with the price of a field.

Summary: There are bad times and then there are really bad times.

It is traditional at the end of each year to wish our fellow travelers on this planet a “Happy New Year!” Oftentimes, the wish is symbolic, noting the passing of another year. Sometimes, like now, the wish is a prayer for better times.

This year has been a time of change. God is revealing the truth about the culture we live in. The hay is being removed, and signs of “new growth” are already appearing.

In the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, except for Lot, there were no righteous people to be found. The entire culture had rotted to the core. Even though Abram had negotiated with the Lord to save the cities if only ten righteous people could be found there (Genesis 18:32), they still could not muster that many. The towns were not worth saving.

America is not there yet.

Sometimes it seems like we are. It seems unbelievable that we have fallen as far as we have, but we are still not to a “10” on the Sodom and Gomorrah scale.

America is still a place of hope. If that were not true, nobody would be crossing our borders with or without going through the immigration process.

If there were no godly people left in America, the churches would be empty. If nobody loved God or their neighbor, nobody would give a dime to charity or bother to help anybody on the street.

God was correct when he spoke through Paul about the times we live in. Paul writes:

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3: 1-5)

This was true in Paul’s day, and it is true now. Paul describes the world when it turns its back on God. But, Paul was writing to Timothy, who was helping with Paul’s work of spreading the Gospel. If there were no “Timothy”s left, the destruction of our culture would be complete.

But there are.

There are people like you and me who have found redemption in Jesus Christ. We are not alone! Every day there are more and more of us turning to Christ. The Body of Christ is growing stronger with each new member.

New growth is showing up everywhere! Do not be discouraged or sad. God is not done with us yet.

Application: Look to the New Year with hope and anticipation for what God is going to do.

Food for Thought: What scripture comes to mind when you think of the coming New Year?