Several months ago I was thinking about how to create urgency in the midst of so much uncertainty. At the time Momentum Europe needed to move forward on some plans we’d set up for 2021 – but how does one stay motivated to dream, think and plan for events which are more than likely to be drastically altered by the pandemic?
What I began to see in myself as well as in others was a certain resignation to the virus. While watching disappointments pile up around me – cancelled events, the realization that the virus wasn’t going away quickly, friends losing jobs and/or losing their loved ones – I found that the deepest sense of urgency came in keeping God’s perspective on the situation.
Certainly we’re often reminded that if we just hang in there long enough “we’ll get through it”. That’s helpful. But as a follower of Jesus our hope is so much greater. Just getting “through it” – if that’s the best the world can offer – is simply a “ho hum offer”. If one is in the midst of loss, fear or discouragement than clinging to ho hum is a better offer than nothing.
But Nahum, like so many of the Old Testament prophets, provides a perspective that can lift our spirits well beyond the ho hum encouragement of the world. In the first chapter Nahum points out that God acts in the “whirlwind and the storm”. He goes on to say that the mountains quake and the earth trembles at his presence, for with “an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh”– a city variously described as wicked, vile and standing in opposition to God.
Sound familiar?
Might the pandemic be this century’s “whirlwind and storm”? Might God be at work in the midst of our modern day “Nineveh”? If so, here’s where Nahum calls us to a greater hope than the ho hum of the world can ever begin to fathom. As he so eloquently puts it in verse 14:
“Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace!”
Again, sound familiar? This reminds me of the Christmas story. We can take it as so familiar that it becomes ho hum or we can claim Nahum’s reminder that it’s not only the greatest and most joyful story ever told, but also the most URGENT!
During this wonderful time of year let’s live by faith, not by fear. While we are socially distant let’s make sure we are deeply and spiritually connected. And let’s be urgent about our message: “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him…” (Nahum 1:7) That indeed is the greatest of all news!
With prayers and best wishes from all of us at Momentum Europe, have a Merry and Covid-free Christmas!