Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane? Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting? It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray. It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’ It catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry. Job 39:19-25.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8 NKJV.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91″1-2 ESV.

This morning in our Friday Retreat, we talked about Advent. I had never even heard that word until a few years ago and it didn’t have any meaning then, just a word. But this year is different. It takes on new meaning because I am anticipating the 2nd coming of Jesus, just as the ancient people anticipated with longing and hope for hundreds of years, the coming of the Messiah. Anticipation, expectation, renewal, hope. I thought last night about the greatest gift ever given, the Son, come as a baby to live with us, His creation. And yet, when we turn to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, all of that we can experience with Him on a personal level…Emmanuel – God With Us. Can we drink that in?

And in our chapter, Jeremiah 12, I confess I have been waiting to share the first Scripture cited above because that is God talking to Jeremiah as He talked to Job, as He talks with each one of us when we grow weary. Jeremiah had a difficult time understanding why evil is allowed to be. You are always righteous, Lord, when I bring a case before You. Yet I would speak with You about Your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. Yet You know me, Lord; You see me and test my thoughts about You. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter! How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happens to us.” v. 1-4. God understood Jeremiah’s frustration. And His response is just as needed today…“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? Your relatives, members of your own family – even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.” v. 5-6. God goes on and then this final admonition…This is what the Lord says: “As for all My wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave My people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the people of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. And if they learn well the ways of My people and swear by My name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’ – even as they once taught My people to swear by Baal – then they will be established among My people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord. v. 14-17. Jeremiah wanted them butchered, slaughtered. God wants them established among His people.

I think Advent means more to me this year because how can we not see the need for the anticipated and promised arrival of Jesus as He will come when the Father sends Him? He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End…who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty! Remember Isaiah’s prophecy? Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. Isaiah 9:7. That’s the good news of the Kingdom of God…