Looking Back, Looking Forward

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord

For He alone is worthy,
For He alone is worthy,
For He alone is worthy, Christ the Lord

by Ruth Wilkinson

He alone is Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

We find ourselves in this in-between week —
Between the fulfillment and the promises kept of Christmas,
and the better-or-worse, could-be-good-could-be-bad possibilities of the future.

The month of January is named after a character in mythology called Janus, who had two faces.
One on the front and one on the back.
One forever looking forward, and one forever looking behind.

And sometimes it seems that we can best move forward once we have, just for a moment, looked back.
To see where we’ve come from and how far we’ve travelled.

To know that we can grow, because we see how we’ve grown.
To know that we can learn, because we see what we’ve learned.
To know that we can become stronger, because we see that we’re stronger than we used to be.
To know that we can trust God, because we see that he’s proved himself trustworthy.

To be ready when, like the Psalm writer:

There are days when
my spirit is weak within me;
Days when
dismay overcomes my heart.
Days when
my spirit fails.
Days when
I feel I’m at the end of myself.

So I choose to I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all You have done;
I reflect on the work of Your hands.

I trust that
when I spread out my hands to You,
You will see that I’m parched.

I trust that you’ll answer me quickly.

Let me feel Your faithful love in the morning,
because I trust in You.
Let me understand the way I should go,
because I long for You.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,
because I need your protection.
Teach me to do Your will,
because You are my God.

May Your gracious Spirit lead me on level ground.

Because of Your name, Yahweh,
let me live!
~Psalm 143

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