Happy New Year 2024!

I face this new year with a sense of faith-filled anticipation. Just the thought of walking forward into new territory with Jesus fills my heart with a sense of adventure and excitement. Kind of like the photo above makes you feel eager to keep walking to see what is on the other side of those trees, I am looking forward to seeing all the good things God has in store as we cross the threshold into a brand-new, untainted year and walk through it with Him leading us and winnowing the path of every single day.

My word of the year for 2023 was

O-—opportunities

P-——promotion

E--—experiences

N———-—new

I loved that OPEN was my word for 2023! It was a continual reminder to keep my heart wide open to God and all He wanted to do and reveal to me. Due to one profound Divine lesson, 2023 turned out to be a watershed that has armed me to walk into 2024 with new perspective and an accompanying sense of great relief.

What's the lesson?

God impressed on my spirit to take a directive that He gave me on 11/9/2018 concerning a particular situation and apply that same directive to every single part of my life going forward—from now on. It has taken a bigger leap of faith than I have heretofore been asked to take in all my years of serving Him, and believe me, that is saying a lot. The power of this plunge into deeper waters of trust has completely transformed my way of thinking and the way I approach my walk with Him and even life itself.  It is a secret I wish with all my heart I had learned years ago when I first started my Christian journey. Oh, the pain and heartache it would have spared me had I only seen it then! The worry I would have been spared if only I had been armed with the knowledge of it!

Without sharing the details surrounding that particular 11/9/2018 directive, I will tell you the short version, simplified, secret formula that served as the catalyst for change in my mental trajectory. 

Here it is. In a nutshell. Condensed.

If God wants a circumstance, situation, job, open door, person, opportunity, step, action, experience, or assignment to enter my life, He will bring it to me. I am not to look for it. I am not to stress over what is and is not in front of me. If it is there, it is because He brought it to me and placed it there. If it is not there, it is because He doesn't want it there. Have absolute trust in His choices, His timing, His interventions, His preventions, His orchestrations. 

I said above, "2023 turned out to be a watershed that has armed me to walk into 2024 with new perspective and an accompanying sense of great relief." The reason I feel such relief is because I don't have to plan anything, chase after anything, try to force anything. He's got this. All of it. The year 2024. My entire life. My future. My moments. My days. They are all in His hands. He controls every detail. 

If you have read many of my writings, you know I love Joshua 3:1-4. I am doing my utmost to walk lockstep, following the Ark. When He says stop, I stop and rest. When He says move, I get up and follow. His schedule. His path. His way.

I need do nothing other than live a fully surrendered, consecrated life, giving Him full control, no trying to force things to happen, and no endless pursuits. 

Is it scary? To let go to this degree? To lean this hard on God? To release all control?

It used to be. It sounds that way. But, at the end of the day, I can't begin to put into words the measure of peace it has brought to my inmost spirit to let go of the shoreline and fling myself out at His mercy like this. I thought I knew consecration. I thought I knew what it meant to be "all in." I thought I knew what "laying my all on the altar" meant.

This is different. This is peace. The responsiblity of trying to make things happen has been lifted off my shoulders. I can't do this. It is all too big for me. He can do this. None of it is too big for Him. All I have to do is move out of His way and allow Him to have full control. It is exhilaratingly liberating and has completely renewed my mind. It turns out that full consecration truly is for my benefit and removes the struggle after all.

My prayer for everyone who reads this is that you see the value in full surrender to God. That you find the courage to release it all and allow Him to lead. He sees your end and every step between now and then. 

While the world grows darker and more evil around us and those who do not trust in Jesus give way to full blown panic, we hold the secret to real peace. Our hope has never been in this world anyhow. Let's fix our eyes on Jesus, surrender our all to Him, and find complete soul rest as we lean into His perfect will for our lives.

Jesus said, 

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

God hasn't confirmed a particular word for me for 2024. If and when He does, I will try to share it with you here.

Here are my latest song uploads to YouTube. I hope they are a blessing to you.

May God richly bless all of you dear readers in 2024! 

Just think! This could be the year Jesus comes back!

Let us live ready to meet Him at all times.