God with us always!
Like many of you, we always start and end the day with God. We also start the New Year with joyful, grateful prayers to God. We also end each passing year with the same joyful gratitude to the Lord.
Each morning, through the day, and before sleeping, always, we turn our thoughts and prayers to God, with much faithful thanksgiving. So much to be grateful about, starting with God's unconditional, abundant love and grace for us each day.
I used to think that God wanted us to love and serve Him each day. I still do. However, through the years, I have since realized that God wants nothing more from us but that we recognize, experience, and appreciate, with joyful gratitude, His deep, unconditional love for us all each day. He is happy when we realize His love and grace for us each moment, each day.
He gave us His Son so we can witness His unfathomable love for us. God's love allowed His Son to separate from Him from Heaven, to be born into our world, in a lowly manger but to a very loving family whom He loved deeply, to show us that our ultimate goal, with our earthly family and beyond our humanity, is to see, experience, and share the beauty and meaning of true eternal love of God for us with all else He sends our way.
As we are reminded in the December 31 reading of L.B. Cowman in the devotional book, Streams in the Desert– "Thus far has the Lord helped us. (Samuel 7:12).
"Thus far" points us to the past. "Whether through poverty, wealth, sickness or health, whether at home or abroad, or on land, sea, or air, and whether in honor, dishonor, difficulties, joy, trials, triumph, prayer or temptation – "Thus far has the Lord helped!"
Every New Year allows us to review 2017. How was it to you? In the midst of the trials and challenges, the tears, the grief and the loss, did you see and hear God's birds singing in the branches?
Let us all remember the birds always when we are feeling down and defeated. Let us together remind ourselves and claim Jesus's words to us: "Don't be afraid. "Not even one sparrow will fall to the ground outside your Father's care –you are worth more than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29-31).
Let us all look forward with complete faith in God and move on to 2018 and all through the years to come!
"Thus far" also points forward as it means one has not yet come to the end of the road. There are still more trials, joys, temptations, battles, defeats, victories, prayers, answers, toils, and strength yet to come. These are then followed by sickness, old age, disease, and death.
But don't worry. God is with us, always! Let us "be strong and take heart and with thanksgiving and confidence lift our voices in praise for the Lord who "thus far" has helped us will help us all our journey through!"
Charles Spurgeon reminds us that when "thus far" is read in heaven's light, what glorious and miraculous prospects they reveal to us!
So let us proceed, in complete love, faith and gratitude, singing through each day and year, through endless ages that, thus far, Jesus has led us all the way!
Hallelujah! God is with us always!
"We need only to trust. The Father comes near to take our hand and lead us on our way today!
Have a God-blessed, joyful, grateful New Year, and thank you too, everyone!
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