Scripture:
Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right. When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is. You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present time.” Luke 12:54-57
Reflection:
When I read this passage in Luke’s gospel, I ask myself if I might have the same attitude as those in the crowds that followed Jesus. Always able to see the physical, but not always understanding the spiritual.
I think that it this passage was spoken to a present day audience, Jesus might say, “you go online and scanning the current headlines on Google, yet you don’t often pause to think about what God is doing behind the scenes of each and every story you read. You fill your lives with many things, but do you see what is truly happening in your family, neighborhood or city?”
eMarketer’s, those whose job it is to analyze current digital media, say that the average U.S. adults in 2020 spent seven hours and fifty minutes consuming digital media per day. That was up 15 percent—or about 59 minutes from 2019. With the vast amount of media we consume, it is no wonder that most of us feel overwhelmed and a little bit uncertain about just about everything; for it is not hard to find every opinion under the sun on just about every topic under the sun. It is hard to filter what is right and important.
Correctly interpreting the present time in which we live is a practice that Jesus encouraged. His admonition was to interpret our days though Heaven’s paradigm, understanding that God is always working behind the scenes. His plans are being accomplished. All I need to look for is God’s “fingerprints” in the midst of what can be normal everyday life. If we look for Him, we will certainly find him!
Secondly, I think these are days to exercise our faith through prayer and quietness in His presence. As we take time to quiet ourselves from the noise of our day, the encouragement we receive from His presence does wonders for our understanding and perspective. If you are worried about the “What’s next” then take Isa. 30:15 to heart, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
Thirdly, It is a perfect time to acknowledge and re-affirm God’s love and favor toward us. Reminding myself to pause and bask in the revelation that God loves me and has favored me, not because of anything I have done, but because of Jesus helps in gaining perspective. Like sitting in the sun after a long cold winter, we need to let the love of God warm our souls. He has blessed us. More abundantly than any of us deserve.
Lastly, it’s a time to see the many opportunities to encourage others! When those around you are lacking confidence about what the coming days may hold, it presents us a great opportunity to comfort those around us with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4
These are good days because God is good, and his love endures forever! Psalms 136
May the Lord bless you and protect you and give you His peace!
David
Recent Comments