Once again, we find ourselves at the end of one year and the start of another. As I write this post, the weather here in the Cincinnati area is slate gray skies, dry, and about 40 degrees. In other words, it’s a typical winter’s day in southwest Ohio.
I suppose most readers would find my description of the weather less than inspiring. No blizzards and mountains of snow as in some places. No palm trees swaying in the breeze as in others.
But while it may sound odd for me to say this, I find this sort of weather oddly comforting. While it isn’t beautiful or even interesting by most standards, it is familiar and comforting. It’s the sort of weather I associate with Christmas much more so that the “white Christmases” we hear about in song or see in a Currier and Ives engraving.
Familiar, comforting, and peaceful. That’s how I’d describe today.
I mention these things as I write this post on December 31, 2023, because if the prognosticators I read are even close to being accurate, there won’t be a lot that is familiar, comforting, or peaceful in the year to come.
There’s a friend of mine I meet every December for a Christmas lunch at Skyline Chili – if you’re not from the Cincinnati area, you probably aren’t familiar with Cincinnati-style chili, but it’s big here – to catch up on the past year. During our lunch a couple of weeks back, he openly wondered what the world would be like in December 2024. That’s a good question. I don’t know and neither does anyone else. We’ll find out when we get there.
But with that said, we can see certain trends in place and make some reasonable conjectures as to what may transpire in 2024. There’s value in considering what the future may hold. The Scriptures commend those who exercise foresight when danger looms. As Proverbs tells us, “A prudent man foresees trouble coming and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.” Notice that the prudent man not only foresees trouble coming, but in light of the trouble he foresees, he takes action to protect himself. If he foresees trouble but takes no action, he isn’t a prudent man at all, but “simple” and ends up being punished. One must both foresee and act to be prudent.
So, what are some of the “troubles” Christians should foresee in 2024? How ought they to respond?
Lux Lucet 