It was Thursday, January 19, 1978 when Gil and I went to a Pet Land store somewhere in Far Rockaway on train to buy some fish for my aquarium. It was 20 degrees out, and as we waited on the El for the train, we saw flurries beginning to fall which suddenly picked up strength. Soon, we had wipeout conditions.
I remember placing my bags of fish inside my army coat to shield them from the cold blasts. We were amazed at seeing two trains arrive on the opposite platform and as they left, they’d disappear within 40 feet from us into a cloak of white powder. The entire train seemed to vanish right into thin air! It snowed all evening and night, giving us 13 inches of snow next day! What a great and beautiful day that turned out to be!
We live in a world covered beneath cloaks. Some wear cloaks of make-believe, hiding behind luxury, prosperity and success, when in fact, they’re poor and maybe failing miserably. Others operate out of cloaks of deception. Their world is a bunch of lies, scams, and what-ifs.
Look around and you’ll see sickness, thefts, attacks, and killings, while others smile, show-off, and spend thousands and millions on everyday trash, sometimes, just to make sure they don’t have to share their wealth with those in despair, or what some consider “low-lives.” A cloak hides their greed and selfish ways. Some cloaks are fashionable, others, eh…
Today’s New Year’s Day! We dress up, eat, drink, celebrate, and make plans for the coming year. With God’s help, we’ll survive 2025, and can impact the lives of others in a positive way.
Behind the cloak of life, lies the cloak of suffering and death. Thousands didn’t make it to this new year. Their lives were cloaked from tomorrow. Are you living under a cloak of suffering? Or hiding under the cloak of worldliness? Satan is the master at tailoring cloaks. He knows our size and exactly what he wants us to wear.
My wife’s older sister died at 7 a.m. this morning. Did so in her sleep. She suffered from a lot of health issues. But the one thing that kept her captive for over a decade was the cloak of depression. She saw the death of her mom, brother, son, nephew, and friends one early January several years ago when her older brother, fearing he wouldn’t inherit anything, invited them over for dinner & then set them afire with matches and gas tanks stashed under the dining table. He killed about six family members and one fiancé who came from the states to meet the family before marrying into it…he operated under cloaks of deception and greed.
In scripture, the prophet Elijah wore a cloak as a symbol of his prophetic authority. In 2 Kings 2:8, he rolled up his cloak and struck the Jordan River with it, causing the waters to part. Almost similar in fashion, a robe of righteousness, covers God’s children (Isaiah 61:10). Do you have a cloak? God’s cloak covers His own: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).
No one knows what lies ahead. Why not be cloaked with God’s favor? There are millions of people that die unexpectedly-only to awake and find themselves an eternity away from God, and there’s no redirecting! They have lost all their opportunities here on earth. In Christ, we are made alive in 2025 and beyond! Let’s see what lies ahead! “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever” (Psalm 30:11,12)!
Happy New Year!
God Bless!
Sam