Am I the only one who is mystified by the idea that another year has come and gone? But thank goodness because new year, new me right?! With each new year comes the idea that we will become bigger, better versions of ourselves. This will be the year I finally lose weight, get organized, save more, spend more time with family, blah, blah, blah. We believe that accomplishing this list will allow us to be the best us we can be.
And I’m not going to lie. I definitely take part in the whole New Year’s resolution list making. (I also take part In the New Year’s resolution list breaking but that’s a story for another time…) I think it’s good that we set goals for ourselves. Push ourselves to improve each and every day. However these resolution lists can be intimidating as well. 365 days loom before us. Only 365 days to accomplish our list. Only 365 days to become that “better person”.
I’ll share some great news with you though. Our heavenly Father never changes. He never has to. He is our consistent rock. He continually picks us up time and time again saying, “Keep going. I’ll always be right here.”
Thankfully we can rest in the consistent nature of God. His word repeatedly speaks of His consistency. There are numerous scriptures that tell us our God is a promise keeper. It tells us He is always the same. Today. Tomorrow. And forever. He changes not. Thank goodness! This good news gives us a cornerstone to rely on. It’s our destiny to have the goodness of God pass through us. Think about that. Our DESTINY.
Let me back up a little. A few months ago my mom handed all of her kids a CD with the simple instructions to listen to it. So what did I do? Put it in the console of my car and forgot about it. (sorry mom :/)
Fast forward a few months and I woke up one morning to a busted out car window, my backpack stolen and my car console rummaged through. Bummer. But if anyone knows me, they know I will take any opportunity to organize. So naturally I decided it was time to clean out the N*Sync and Now 15 CDs. No idea why the thief didn’t take those gems! That’s when I stumbled across the CD from my mom. Simply titled “Nature of God” by Graham Cooke. I was about to run some errands and decided to pop it in while I ran from one place to the next. The cd is pretty tame in the beginning. Graham talks about the happiness we receive when we trust in the Lord. I was nodding along but distracted by my to-do list. By the time I pulled into my usual errand running lunch spot, God had grabbed me and I was in tears. Here’s the truth that God spoke through Pastor Cooke:
“He is a great God who sends us out as lambs amongst the wolves. Why? Because the Lion is padding by our side.” He goes on to say, “That you and I have a testimony of what God is really like living in our hearts in such a powerful way that it drives everything. It is that testimony that is the very essence of prophecy, the testimony of what Jesus is really, really like. “I AM the Lord. I never, ever change. I will always be exactly like this.” And we are discovering what the “exactly like this” is all about. Beloved, do not be distracted from your journey into the nature of God. Don’t be distracted, because that is the source. It is the wellspring of all your joy, your peace, your rest, your revelation, your anointing, your power. It is the nature of God. And when you learn to rest in the nature of God, when He comes walking within the impossible, you will be the one that gets out of the boat to join Him. You won’t be one of those who stand there wondering, or thinking about joining Him. There will be this instinctive, intuitive NEED to put your leg over the side of the boat and start walking on a substance you have no business being on except that He is drawing you there.”
“walking on a substance you have no business being on”. Whoa. It’s so true. We have absolutely no right to be in the presence of God. We have no right to call ourselves His sons and daughters. No right to go out and speak about Him like we know Him personally. But yet we do. Because He is our Lion. He is the one calling us out onto those mysterious waters. Thankfully our Savior gave us the inheritance we never deserved and we are able to rejoice in the Goodness that is God. We are able to make mistake after stupid mistake but yet still be pulled into the sweet embrace of His unfailing love.
I think John Piper said it best when he says, “there is infinite, unending security in the Almightiness of God – no matter what happens in this life.”
So this new year has started off a little bit differently. This is the year I leave my friends and family for 11 months. This is the year I travel to places I never dreamed I would ever go. This is the year I will see miracle after miracle as God moves across the nations changing lives. This is the year I will walk on a substance I have no business being on, except for the fact that He is calling me there.
