1231 昨日
你們出來必不至急忙，也不至奔逃。因為耶和華必在你們前頭行。以色列的神必作你們的後盾。《以賽亞書52:12》
昨日的安全感。「…神使已過的事重新再來。」（傳道書 3:15）。在年末時，我們懷着急切的心期待神為我們預備的未來；然而，當我們回想過去時，焦慮往往隨之而來。我們現在享受神恩典的喜樂，常常會因記起昨天的罪和錯誤而有所減少，祂允許我們對過去的記憶，要將這些記憶轉化，為我們未來屬靈成長而效力。神提醒我們過去的事，是為了保護我們免於現今膚淺的安全感。
明日的安全感。「…耶和華必在你們前頭行…」這是一個恩典的啟示——神會差遣祂的力量，去做我們未能做到之事。祂將持續看顧，以至於我們不會再因同樣的失敗而絆倒，而如果祂不是我們的「後盾」，我們無疑就會重蹈覆轍。神的手會伸向過去，除去所有違背我們良心的指控。
今日的安全感。「你們出來必不至急忙…」當我們邁向即將到來新的一年時，願我們不要懷着急躁和健忘的喜歡前行，也不要草率和缺乏深思的衝動而急於行動。但讓我們帶着耐心的力量出去，因為我們知道以色列的神在我們前頭行。我們的昨天為我們帶來了破碎和不可逆轉的事物。的確，我們失去了那些無法重新來過的機會，但神能將這種破壞性的焦慮轉化為對未來建設性的思考。讓過去安息，但讓它安息在基督的甜蜜懷抱中。
把破碎、不可逆轉的過去交在祂手中，與祂一起邁向無敵的未來。
來自章伯斯的智慧
我們不是要宣揚行善。善行不是被宣講的，而是要被實踐的。《故我差遣你》
1231 Yesterday
You shall not go out with haste,…for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. —Isaiah 52:12
Security from Yesterday. “…God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.
Security for Tomorrow. “…the Lord will go before you….” This is a gracious revelation— that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our “rear guard.” And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.
Security for Today. “You shall not go out with haste….” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterday’s hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.
Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. —So Send I You