There is an internet meme well known to folks of my generation that goes something like, “We are the middle children of history—born too late to explore the earth, born too early to explore the galaxy.” This is usually followed by a third phrase: “born at just the right time to ___,” where the blank is often a piece of trivial piece of pop culture or contemporary politics, expressing mockery and dissatisfaction at our present cultural moment. In this time of spreading disease, social and political upheaval, and growing violence in the streets, do you find yourself discouraged? Do you find yourself longing for an imagined better future, or saying with the Preacher, “Why were the former days better than these?” This morning, the readings from God’s Word, and the hymns we sing in response, dispel this notion. Psalm 62:8 charges us to “trust in Him at all times,” and Psalm 27:14 instructs, “be strong, and let your heart take courage,” as we wait upon the Lord’s providence. The hymn Be Still, My Soul encourages us to “leave to thy God to order and provide,” because He guides the future as He has the past, and Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah reminds us that though we may face anxious fears, death, and destruction, we serve a God who is faithful to land us “safe on Canaan’s side.” The crooked world we find ourselves in this morning is the world He ordained for us. We are planted not too late, not too soon, but at just the right time. —Henry C. Haffner
Key Words: Death, Mourning, Sorrow, Sadness, Oppression, Wisdom
Keystone Verse: Consider the work of God: who can make straight what He has made crooked? (Ecclesiastes 7:13)