Day 73

One more while it's snowy then probably another couple before bed as I'm off tomorrow. Onto business then,

Today’s readings
Numbers 1:1-2:9
Luke 1:26-38
Psalm 33:12-22

Oh boy have I ever been looking forward to Numbers. If you've been doing 20 days of this without me then I salute you... I'm actually starting on the day it's meant to be finishing. Bad Jon. Much catching up to do! Little insight into Numbers from my handy little book. Numbers is basically showing that no matter how much we moan and forget God, He never forgets us. He might have to let us get into trouble so we remember Him but He'll never forget us or stop loving us. Off we go then...

So a big old list to start but I love how it begins. God says go and choose these men to help you but here's who you're going to pick. Free will can be confusing and the way I've always understood it is that a parent can give their child a free choice between a toy and a plate of sprouts and they'll know which they'll pick. Well our father God gives us the choices but He knows which we'll pick because He knows us inside out and plans accordingly.

Obviously we need a best name contest here too. Clearly Ammishaddai wins with Helon and Zuar close second and third. Another thing to notice though. 600,000+ men who can fight. Plus kids, women, pensioners and sick or disabled people and you're probably looking at 2 million plus that have been walking around listening to Moses. It's not surprising that some of them have been getting into trouble! And yet God manages to take this HUGE chunk of humanity and keep it safe. Wow.

Into the New Testament and we have a very short piece showing Mary being chosen and notice how differently she reacts to Zachariah. This is a girl who is probably under 15 years old being told she's going to get pregnant by a miracle and yet she doesn't panic or worry about the future. She just accepts and deals with it. Wow. I bet there's a few unwritten days when she did have a few little panic attacks but this makes me think of how God continually uses young people because they have that inner drive and lack of worry that He loves to work with. Jesus said you need the attitude of a child to get into heaven and I think we're seeing some of that in Mary here. People often say childlike trust as though it's blind faith but I think it's actually the trust that you will be able to cope because God is with you and that in that moment you believe in His plan.

Finally our Psalm harks back to the start of Numbers by telling us that a big army alone won't win battles. It's having God on our side and that trust that Mary had which carries us through. If there's a battle or a struggle in your life then keep giving it to God. At the moment I'm going through all sorts of angst about the future and this is a real challenge to me to stop looking at all the things I need or can do and start to ask what God is going to do for me.

And that's your lot. Onto the next one