After two years of locusts, 2013 was the breakthrough year. It was the year that confirmed God had indeed been working behind the scenes. It was the year that I learned by keeping my eyes on Him, I could get through the troubles better than I went into them. It was the year that I learned what to do in future times of trouble. I learned that oftentimes the action that feels the most natural is not the right thing to do. I learned to recognize the voice of evil in those discouraging thoughts. I learned a little something about perseverance. And I learned that through it all, God is right there, supplying what I lack myself.
Every day, my prayer was from Proverbs 3:5-6:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."
In two years' time, my head and heart have been through this verse every way possible.
-TRUST. Believe what you can't see, or what you can't see yet. It may look, on the surface, like nothing is happening, but you have a God who is working mightily behind the scenes.
-Trust with ALL your heart, not part of it, and not some of the time, but with everything in you.
-Your "own understanding" is horribly limited and flawed. You see the tip of the iceberg. Don't draw important conclusions about life based only on what you see and understand right now.
-Defer to God in EVERYTHING. Weigh decisions against God's Word. Is this something you need to handle, or let God take care of it? Do you need to pray, and wait, for direction? Do you need to confess something that day that you handled that you should have left to God?
As 2014 draws near, I can't help but wonder what it will bring. Personally, I'm hoping that it's a year of moderation, not the extremes of the last few years. But whatever it is, it will be perfectly designed by God to nudge me in the direction He has for me, and in the end, it will be very good.
