2015 - Make It a Year of Belief!

Happy New Year!  Wow...2015 is here!!!  I hope you all had a great Holiday season!!
I remember as a brand new Christian back in the year 2000, someone had gifted me with a daily devotional, which I started right around the beginning of 2001.  I had just given birth to my daughter, Courteney, who had many medical complications and was hospitalized her first month and half of life.  It was a season of life that included rejection, suffering, unexpected trials, sad news, glad news, and the beginning of restoration.  I remember that time in my life, and being so hungry for God's Word, that I actually had a hard time reading only one day at a time of my daily devotional.  One of the very first truths that I learned from the devotional was that God is Sovereign.  This was a new word to me and to be honest, the many attributes of God were new to me.

2015 may be a great year.  2015 may be a challenging year.  The Word of God tells us to not be surprised as we experience trials (1 Peter 4:12&13). The sovereignty of God is truly our comfort through it all.  It is the knowledge that our lives aren't in the hands of man, Satan, our mistakes, or fate.  We serve and love a God who loves us with an everlasting love and knows all and rules all.  

God's sovereignty can be explained as a ring, which represents you and me, put into your hand. Close your fist as tight as you can to keep that ring safe.  Use your other hand and try to pry open the hand that holds the ring.  Impossible.  Now try to peek at the ring.  It is hidden.  Try to touch the ring. It is protected.  The hand that holds the ring represents God and that it's His choosing of who has, what has, when there is, where there is, why there is, and how there is any interaction with His precious ring that He holds in His hand.  He loves that ring, He protects it, He cares for it, He watches over it.  And sometimes, yes, He opens His hand and allows trials or suffering to come to the ring.  But, it all has to be done when He permits it.  That is the sovereignty of God....He rules supremely over all and nothing can happen in the universe without His permission.

I remember reading a devotion that stated even the consequences of our sin gets filtered through His hands. This was especially reassuring to me, as I felt as though my life was crumbling due to one bad choice after the next.  The beauty of this truth that God so supremely rules is that He is greater than our choices, our sin, than Satan, than our enemies.  He may allow things in our lives that cause pain and suffering (Isaiah 45:5-7).  But, it is especially important to remember that sometimes He uses things that He hates to accomplish what He loves.  His end goal is always our good and His glory.  His sovereignty may not lead us on an easy path, but it is the path that He has chosen for us.  It is always good for me to remember that the sovereignty of God led Jesus to the Cross (Isaiah 53:10). We can't always know God's reasons for choosing certain trials for us in our lives, but we can trust that He is in control and loves us, and then we can find peace and contentment.  And, most of all, we can "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thess. 5:18) if we truly believe God is sovereign.

If you believe in the Sovereignty of God, take a moment to stop and thank God for His mercy which allows you to believe this truth.  Do you know how many people "do life," trials, suffering and all, and have no trust in God and do not believe that He sovereign?  If you DO believe this truth, then that is nothing short of a miracle!!  Thank God for His supernatural work in your life and heart.  Thank Him that He has allowed you this belief!!!  If you WANT to believe this truth, but have doubts, cry out to Jesus just as the father of the sick child did in Mark 9:24 and say "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"  God wants us to believe in Him, therefore you are praying and asking according to God's will and you can pray with confidence.

May we be prepared for 2015 with hearts of praise, love, gratitude, trust, surrender, and obedience to God our Father who loves us enough to take us to places we would never choose to go on our own.

Amen!

Many Blessings!

Christine