Advent Devotion: Day 5

Thursday,  December 1

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Isaiah 4:2-6; Acts 1:12-17, 21-26

What an excitement that rushes through us when we begin a new role in life, be it a new job, making a new friend, becoming a mother, grandfather, or sister. When we are given the new title and the new job description is placed in our hands, we feel as though we could take on the world. There is a vigor and audacity given birth in the honeymoon of new responsibilities. We are filled once again with a youthful belief that from this, good will come and we will play a part in its coming.

What must it have felt like for Solomon as he was promoted? He was now king! What went through Matthias’ mind when the casting of lots went his way? He was now an apostle! No one can fully grasp, in the beginning, the weight such responsibilities will bring. The start is a time to dream big about what one will do with the title and what fruits will come from laboring with it.

But we know that all things shiny dull with time. Wear and tear come with existence. So, after the first few mishaps, failures, and bumps-in-the-road, we are reminded that we are not God, and this endeavor cannot be done alone or from our own power. We must realize that all is done well that is done in love, and love is God.

So may God bless the king. May God bless the apostle. God bless the teacher, the gardener, and the officer. May the father, the grandmother, and the friend, by God’s grace, “be like rain that falls on mown grass, like showers that water the earth.”

When the luster fades, may the excitement change to gratitude for the privilege of serving rather than bitterness for the wear and tear. And even when we feel we have failed miserably, may God remind us of our first role and all the benefits attached. You are a child of God.

Chase Robinson
School of Divinity Graduate