In 2023 I committed to reading/listening through the Bible in chronological order. This morning this commitment had me in Revelation chapters one through five. I love how God’s word always meets us where we are when we come to it with a submitted heart to seek His face and hear His voice. From the praises of the living creatures and the twenty-four elders I went into a spirit of praise and clicked play on my worship playlist. The first song sang, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” and of course that sent me to Psalm 150 which then sent me though reading more of the psalms of praise.
Then I recalled that on my 47th birthday, this past December 12th, I shared the following on my Facebook page:
“On December 9th 2001 I wholly surrendered my life to Jesus. I did so in faith of the promises He made to me in His word through Psalm 25. So at the age of 25 the trajectory, the purpose, the driving force of my life changed through trusting in the word of the WORD.
Since that time my life has followed the Psalms. Each year the corresponding Psalm for the year of my life has met me and carried me through that particular year.
So as I stepped into my 47th year of life reading Psalm 47 and seeking the LORD for insight as to what awaits me in this season… this is what I have received from Him thus far:
Sing My praises Nicole.
Remember I AM King.
Let Me restore your heart.
Let Me restore your joy.
You are chosen by Me.
You are loved by Me.
So sing.
I’ll start with a clap. I’ll move to a shout. I’ll remember that my Jesus is AWESOME. I’ll remember that I am His chosen and loved. I’ll trust in His sovereign reign over all the earth. I’ll sing because my King is worthy.”
In light of recalling this past moment with the Lord, I went to Psalm 147 this morning and read,
“Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars;
He gives names to all of them.
Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His understanding is infinite.”
(Psalm 147:1-5)
Once again my God has reminded me to sing. He has spoken to me in song every day since my forty-seventh birthday. I know thats only been a couple of weeks, but it still brings peace to my heart as I recall His faithfulness to keep His Word and it is restoring my hope in hearing the voice of HIs Spirit and knowing when it is the word of my Savior leading and guiding and not my own stubborn self-determined will.
In our world January 1st begins a new year. It is a time, an opportunity to have a type of jubilee, a type of a day of atonement… well maybe not that deep.Those are pretty big analogies, perhaps a better one is that the coming new year is like a game that has been a hard fought battle and the scoreboard is tied up again making it, in that moment, a new ballgame.
This could happen in the 1st quarter or the 4th or even in overtime. I don’t know where you are in your life. Maybe you are reading this and you are still in your 1st quarter and you think you have the whole game to go, but maybe you know you are already in overtime and it’s pretty intense. The adrenaline is pumping and you are purposely having to choose to fight the anxious reality of the moment so that you can sit still long enough to just breathe.
Whatever quarter you are in, now is the time to learn from the past and evaluate. Now is the time to lean into the Coach and listen, learn, and head back out onto the court with a new hope and excitement that the game is not over, it is not lost. We still are here to win.
“The Lord supports the afflicted;
He brings down the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre,
Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who provides rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
He gives to the beast its food,
And to the young ravens which cry.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord favors those who fear Him,
Those who wait for His lovingkindness.”
(Psalm 147:6-11)
This last week of 2023 lean into the Word of the LORD. Let me encourage you to spend this last week of 2023 seeking His face. Let Him remind you who He is.
“And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”
And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” (Revelation 4:8-11)
This past Sunday as one of our Pastors taught from Luke 1:26-38 as we focused on the last Advent Sunday he shared how Mary went from simply hearing this truly life altering and life threatening call on her from God to accepting it. He pointed out how in order for her to get from “How can this be?” to “Let it be.” she had to first find out where she was.
She did this by looking back. She did this by drawing on all the promises of God and His faithfulness throughout the generations. She did this by remembering that nothing is impossible with God. She found out where she was, who she was, and then she believed and boldly walked into whatever lay ahead for her knowing that God was with her.
Where are you beloved? Whose are you? Can you say, “Here I am Lord, I am Yours.”? Will you step into 2024 submitted and resolute to the will of the One who created you and has called you to step out of darkness and into His marvelous light? Will you lean into His Word and seek His face? Will you let the mirror of HIs Word and voice of Spirit help you review this past year, these past years, through His infinite understanding?
If you have breath, let it be for the praises of the Lord. Let 2024 be a new ballgame, no matter how many times the scoreboard has been tied up again and again as you have fought the good fight of faith. Stay in the game.