Royston First United Methodist Church

“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the Lord. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.” – Proverbs 23:17-18

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING: 2 Chronicles 27-28, Psalm 63, Proverbs 23

The last several weeks have been LONG! I’m not talking about physical distancing or quarantines. I’m talking about our time spent studying 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles. Reading about the various kings and the long list of turning from God, reform, turn from God, reform, and so on…it’s been a long 10 weeks. But during that time, we have also seen acommon theme that is captured in these two verses from Proverbs 23: “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the Lord. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”

Yet throughout the 10 weeks, we discover that God has not left the people of Israel and Judah and there is hope on the horizon – a future hope. I believe that is a message that God is still speaking to us today. These last several weeks have brought much uncertainty, anxiety, fear, and distrust into our already fragile society as we wrestle with questions about COVID-19. For some, there are even questions of faith and what God is doing during this time. But I believe we can find direction in those words of wisdom: “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the Lord. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”

I do not know what tomorrow holds, but I believe that God is the author of tomorrow…and the day after that…and the day after that. God is the author of our future and God is the giver of hope. No matter what may happen, I believe that God is hope and that when we are faithful and obedient in following God (and continue in the fear of the Lord), then we can claim that promise of afuture hope.

For Israel and Judah, there was a long period of time sprinkled with some good leadership and some bad leadership. But during that time, the people began to wander from God and they lost sight of the hope that comes from God. Even when times got tough, God was still with them and God was doing a new thing to bring the promise of a future hope to Israel. God is still with us…and maybe God is doing a new thing among us to bring the promise of a future hope to Royston. 

Have a great weekend and stay safe! I look forward to being with you in worship on Sunday at 10:15.

Grace and peace,
Matt

P.S. We are still looking for volunteers to help with our worship services when we re-open our church campus. We will need volunteers to help with welcoming people, cleaning our worship spaces, and providing guidance for social distancing as we gather together. If you are willing and able to help, please contact me at matt@roystonfirstumc.org.