Anno Domini Two Thousand Twenty-five.
A year of change. A year of drawing even closer to my Lord. Learning to trust him and his decisions instead of leaning on my own knowledge. Leaving fear behind and firmly planting my faith even deeper into a God who gives grace upon grace to a child needing the strong arm of his Savior. Highs and lows only to find your Heavenly Father has been right there beside you the whole way.
Once again, my verse for 2026 has not been given to me. Maybe because my head has been filled with anxiety over things I don’t need to obsess. This only causes my tunnelling vision to grow even smaller and at times pushing what could be visible out of my view. Things that my Lord wants me to see. One being the fact that he already has everything under control. Sovereignty encompasses all of my being. Paul writes of this in Ephesians 1:11. It’s according to his will. Playing life by his rules. Do my intentions, actions, life fall into his will for what he planned for me?
Blessings get pushed out of view by self. James tells of this in chapter 1 verse 17 in his book. Every good and perfect gift. As our Heavenly Father can only be good that would include things we don’t consider to be so. A gift is not for the recipient to decide if it’s something would get for themselves. It’s for the one giving the gift to find joy, wrap it, and then present it to the giftee desiring that they too find the same joy in what was gifted to them. Here my Lord has been teaching me that gifts come in various shapes and sizes. I must accept them, and should I not be able to carry them in my own strength, it is then I ask for his help. James also tells us that God does not change. These gifts have been given out before, so he is fully capable of helping me navigate through them. It is in these times when blessings become visible. Is my eyesight clear enough to see these blessing or am I too inward introspective?
Faith. Big word for only five letters. A Christian’s spiritual-building exercise to gain no strength but to only exert trust in the One who is our defender, refuge, and high tower into Whom I have placed my belief. Psalm 18:1-3 tells us that God is our fortress, deliverer, rock, refuge, shield, salvation, and stronghold. Awesome is he! David knew this side of God intimately being a shepherd. It was through song that he gave praise to the One who was worthy of the glory that he so richly deserves. Faith is put into action every time our God claims sovereignty over our lives. We are his as being bought with the blood of his Son. Every time he gifts us with another day of life to live it out for him while looking for those blessings like Easter eggs in a daily motion picture. All to turn those blessings back into praise and giving glory to him for loving us so much that he wants to be part of our everyday. Have I been used my faith for him or did I choose to go my own selfish way?
Two thousand twenty-six. As a new year approaches, I must admit I would have never found myself where I sit right now. Not my office chair writing this blog, but spiritually in the situation my Lord has me placed. He has taken me from self-dependence to totally needing him more than breath itself. I was too self-reliant this year. A kicking me off my own little pedestal needed to be done. Money was a security blanket. Odd words coming from someone who has been through Chapter 13 over twenty years ago. Yet right there in my pocketbook was my Lord. Making the dollar stretch even more than I could ever imagine. Would I relent? Allow him to remain sovereign over Benjamins that I had started to idol? All the while he was getting me to realize he is more of a treasure than any gold mine. Being thankful for everything dispensed from his bank. And yet here at the end of the year he’s providing a remedy that only he is able to concoct. Will I learn from the spiritual education taught me through this year?
Two thousand twenty-five. Another year served in God’s classroom. I am very thankful for having the Holy Spirit take the time to continue to teach and mold this lump of clay. I pray that he never stops. Into the new year and ever after. Relying on him, my Heavenly Father, and my Savior is a must to live his will out daily. What does he have planned for me?
Grace and peace, James
*Scripture from ESV translation, Crossway Publishers, 2001