The beginning of anything new is a time of anticipation, a new season of hope, a time to consider what's truly important. And it's a time to reaffirm that God is sovereign and does all things well--for His glory and for our good. He knows the end from the beginning, and establishes the paths that I take. I'm learning (slowly, yes) to rest in His care.
While my vision for the year is blurred, I ponder on how I might align myself more with God's Word and His ways, how I might grow in faith and trust as I step across this threshold. I want to give diligence to the maturing of my faith.
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power (2 Thess. 1:11).
Why? Verse 12--That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therein is the purpose of my life for this year, and the next...to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. I find encouragement in knowing that I have God's grace and power for whatever He sets before me, or for whatever He withholds from me for such a time as this.
As I was reading this week, I came to where we find the account of the lame man beside the pool of Bethesda, and isn't it amazing how many times we can read a passage and God always probes our hearts with it? A couple of things that strike me here--Jesus saw Him there beside the waters, amid the crowd of people--He saw him as an individual person with a deep desire and a hope that cascaded over him day after day. And He knew that he had been there a long time. God knows how long I've been beside my pool of Bethesda as well, and He knows the deep desires of my heart and the hopes that cascade over me. Not only does He know, but He is here with me--for I abide in Him, and He in me. He understood the man's frustration--there was no one to put him into the water to be cleansed. The man couldn't do for himself the very thing that would make him well--because he was too weak to do so. God knows my frustrations over my weaknesses as well. And that's where hope steps in. I am weak, but He is strong. When Jesus saw the man's simple faith, He quietly said, "Take up your bed and walk." And so He says to me in the simplicity of my own faith to get up and walk on--not in my own strength, but in His.
Another year of life--a new season of anticipation and hope.
The photograph is me as a little girl, about 3 years old.
