We are about to enter a new year that I believe will be very challenging for us in many ways. I am challenging myself and you, that no matter what we face, we hold the course knowing that our LORD is with us and He will champion our cause.
The Apostle Paul challenged the Christians in Thessalonica with these words — “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you, in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18)
Listen to the promise that God gives us in Psalm 50:15 – “And all who call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you will honor Me.”
Folks, we can trust God because He does not and cannot lie. He is the absolute truth – a truth that sets us free. I love what Jerry Bridges wrote – “God, in His love, always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom, He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty, He has the power to bring it about.”
1. God is completely sovereign.
2. God is infinite in wisdom.
3. God is perfect in love.
In Psalm 9:10 the writer declared, “Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You.” To know God’s name means more than just knowing about Him; it means to know Him personally and experientially.
We can face the future with God because He is in control. Paul, in 1 Timothy 6:15 wrote “God will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and LORD of lords.”
Our God is not only the Creator of heaven and earth, but He also sustains all that He has made.
In Hebrews 1:3 we read “Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Think of the power of God’s word. He spoke creation into being (Genesis 1-3). Now we read that “He upheld all things by the word of His power.”
The apostle Paul, in Colossians 1:17, wrote “And He (Christ) is before all things, and in Him, all things consist (are held together). How great is our God’s sustaining power? The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their (starry) host by numbers; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His power, not one is missing.”
Listen to what Nehemiah 9:6 says. “You alone are the LORD: You made heaven and the heaven of heavens, with all their host. The earth and everything on it. The seas and all that is in them. And You preserve them all.”
Our God provides for everything He has made. In Psalm 147:7-11, the writer says:
“Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praises on the harp to our God,
Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass grow on the mountains.
He gives to the beast its food and to the young ravens that cry.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.”
The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear (reverence) Him, in those who hope (have confidence) in His mercy. If we truly reverence our God the Creator and Sustainer of all that is, we will have a vibrant hope (confidence) in His ability to stand with us at all times.
The Apostle Paul, in Acts 17:25-28 reminds us that God gives life and breath to all – “Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything since He gives to all life, breath and all things. And He has made from one blood, every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the LORD, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said ‘For we are also His offspring’.”
God does all of this for us for one reason – “that we might grope (seek) for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each of us.” God wants us to seek Him. He wants us to find Him. He is not hiding. He wants to be found.
Our Creator and Sustainer provide our daily food. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 9:10, wrote “Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness!”
Folks, He loves to bless us. He longs to bless us. He will bless us if we truly seek and trust Him. Be sure it is the LORD HIMSELF you seek and not just a temporary solution to your dilemma.
In the last couple of years, I have developed a real appreciation for the truth we find in Psalm 31:15 — “My times are in Your hands. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and those who persecute me.”
My precious brothers and sisters – I don’t know what the future holds, but I know God is in control and He will go before us, and set straight paths for our feet. We can have a confident hope and future as we trust Him.
Happy New Year in Jesus!
Pastor Leonard
