Sermonette: Jan. 13, 2025

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.”

– Exodus 23:20 (NIV)

Scripture is story after story of ordinary people being led by God and their response to that leading.

God speaks to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, a land filled with both promise and peril. He assures them that He will send an angel ahead of them, guiding and protecting them on their journey. This angel would not just be a passive observer, but an active guide, preparing the way and leading them toward the place God had prepared for them.

All humans are also on a journey toward the promised land, and we, like the Israelites, think we know what the future holds. We think we know what’s best. We expect that things will go smoothly, and get discouraged when they don’t.

The allure of a New Year can be a glaring example of this kind of expectation and disappointment. You’ve heard all the statistics: our resolutions don’t often hold steady. I already forgot to exercise this morning.

And the media knows our weaknesses and exploits them, distracting and subverting our energies away from what really matters.

We know all this. We’ve succumbed to distraction over and over and over. We understand the pull towards numbing, and the fleeting rush of fulfillment.

Which is why we thank God for sending that angel ahead of us, for laying a path that is only accessible through God. Laying a path that holds all our distractions, all our disappointments, all our directions toward Him. God sends an angel ahead of you, into 2025. All glory be to God.