January in England is a long, dreary month. The excitement of December, with its Christmas celebrations and holiday period, twinkling lights, merry music and festive decorations, not to mention the tempting aromas of baking and cooking, give way to the hard slog of winter. Grey skies, darkness, cold weather, mizzling rain and biting frosts remain, but there seems nothing to alleviate the monotony. Many people, paid early in December, find the financial burden of January a heavy weight. Doom and gloom seem more natural bedfellows. Spring beckons, to be sure, but it’s a long time to March!
Pessimism, doubt and despair hang over January like the gossamer threads of a spider’s web clinging to us cloyingly. The occasional bright blue sky promises much, but rarely seems to linger. We are in the middle of winter and only the occasional snowdrop with its delicate white perfection reminds us life is not done yet.
Eugene Peterson, in meditating on the word ‘Hallelujah’ (‘praise God’) writes, ‘we were not created for curse and gloom. We were not put together to live in despair and melancholy.’ (‘This Hallelujah Banquet’, P 147)
Praising God is easy in the good times, ‘when the sun’s shining down on me and the world’s all as it should be’, as Matt Redman puts it (‘Blessed Be Your Name’). But praising God is not confined to the good times. It’s a remarkable fact that the people of God are called to sing and praise God in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:16-18), and the book of Revelation, as well as the rest of history, testify that singing and praising God goes on during the dark times as well as when all is well. This is possible becuase ‘grace and love are the centres of existence.’ (ibid., P 149) Doom and gloom, melancholy and misery, do not have the final word. ‘Hallelujah’ can become our first and last word, a universal word that transcends the limitations of different languages, as we shape our language and life around the truth of God. God is the reality of life, therefore ‘Hallelujah‘ can be our daily response to life, even in January!
