Happy New Year!
As we enter 2023, I am so grateful to God our loving heavenly Father who has faithfully carried us through 2022 with all the hurdles, joys, aspirations and surprises we encountered. My heart is bursting forth with praise and thanksgiving to our LORD Almighty. I proclaim with King David:
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And all that is within me,
Bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all his benefits,
Who forgives all your iniquity,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love & mercy,
Who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
(Psalm 103:1-5)
As the psalmist David recounts God’s blessings one by one, may you and I take time today to also reflect on all that God has done for us in 2022. As the song Count Your Blessings reminds us to recount God’s goodness, we will truly be surprised at the many things He has done for us in 2022!
This week I was also meditating on one of Don Moen’s songs, This Is My Holy Place
(Click here for the link and be blessed as you listen). Moen captures the secret of how as God’s children we can continue to trust and hope in God through Christ, as we face numerous challenges in life which often seem hopeless, causing us to feel helpless and powerless. The secret is to run away into his holy place, which is the secret chambers of our LORD where in his holy Presence, we can see him face to face, receive his love and grace, his healing flow, and his almighty power as he strengthens and renews us. Then we can testify to others as to how we are sustained and how we can find joy in God’s presence, amidst the storms in life!
We do not know what 2023 has for us but that’s okay! We have this amazing and wonderful heavenly Father who treasures us dearly and he is the same God. As he was in 2022, so he will be in 2023!
As beloved children of God, may we be intentional in meeting Jesus our LORD, in 2023. Daily let us enter into his secret place, his holy presence. Then despite what 2023 holds for us, we will find peace, security, certainty, hope, joy and power to overcome whatever befalls us!
