Thus says the LORD:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
and the rest of his kindred shall return
to the children of Israel.
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
and they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace. (Mi 5:1-4a)
We all have been in the position of being the little one, the powerless one, the runt, the weakling.
It was not a good feeling. It is not a good feeling.
When we are powerless, we squirm and tend to give up hope.
Imagine a people waiting for hundreds of years for a deliverer.
Everyone wanted the Messiah to come. But, they pretty gave up hope.
The prophets, for their part, kept doing all they could do to keep the people focused.
However, a promise made long ago versus a reality of darkness and gloom just did not give people much hope.
Jesus came to us a couple thousand years ago.
We are still waiting for a promise: that He will come again.
Some of us have given up hope.
We think the wait is too long.
We want our Lord to return.
The Lord is real.
The promise is sure.
The day will come.
And no one who holds firm will be left behind.
FAITH ACTION: Say a prayer today for those whose faith has wavered, those who may have given up on the Lord. Pray that they may realize that the Lord has not given up on them.