Dear Ones,
Hope your first day of the New Year is bursting with joy! I have a new journal and it begins each day with a space for praise and gratitude and then follows with prayer requests. I have so many things to be grateful for and writing praise and blessings down seems to almost multiply them. Today is football day and special treats that we have only once a year. I went downstairs for coffee this morning and am going through the Christmas cards and pictures etc. Hope you have a joyous first day of the year!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Happy New Year! I love ringing in a New Year as it reminds me of a clean slate, and a fresh start. As we look back on the past year, we probably never imagined it would be so challenging, but God was with us. What about 2021? What will it hold for us, only God knows and we don’t need to fear because He is Emmanuel, God with us. We can trust Him with everything for He is dependable and never changes. He is our Loving Father and understands our humanity, and even when we fail, He gently nudges us back. I wonder what things will be birthed through each of us in a new way this coming year. Will we wait for His timing or will we spin our wheels and rush ahead of Him? Maggie Cooper writes about how often her young daughter gets impatient as she reads to her if there are many words on a page. Sometimes her daughter just grabs the book in her hands and turns the pages before the time, but she misses the details and the story doesn’t make sense. I wonder if we do that with the Lord when He has us in a waiting mode and we get impatient and rush ahead of Him before it is time to turn the page. Of course, we won’t have peace and we get frustrated and may even miss the meaning of what He wants to do in us and through us. It says in Proverbs 19:21 (ESV), “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” We can have lots of plans mapped out for our future but it is God’s purposes that will prevail, mot ours. Let us first seek His direction for each day as we face a new year, and wait for His appointed time. I think we will find our hearts at peace and we can confidently rest in the Lord.
Challenge for today: Seek His will and purpose for your life each and and let go of your own plans.
May the Lord bless you in this new year. Love, Judy