Happy New Year!
A little late; I know. All of the action and thinking and messages about the holidays are all but gone – short of us who have not taken down our Christmas Lights and tree yet. (Update: I did get those done!)
I’ve wanted to blog, but have been absent for quite a long time with the happenings of life that have been going on. But then, this morning, I read Jeremiah 17:10 and, to be completely open, the Holy Spirit came upon me and showed me something. Easy; short, but it made an impact. And, again even though the “Happy New Year / You are starting a New Year / think about those resolutions” messages are now concluded, this seemed like a perfect last hurrah.
This verse says, using my words, that God searches your heart and mind and rewards you appropriately. So, I started to wonder – I’ve kept my heart pretty darn pure.
LOL; funny I wrote that that way – I was going to edit it out but decided to leave it. With the kind-of-swear-word there, it goes to show my heart isn’t pure and perfect – but that’s okay – that’s who we are as humans in a fallen world. 😃
Also, in that moment, I said to myself, “I focus on doing good at work, and being good and of service to my family.”
So, in my groggy 4:50 AM brain I muttered, “So, Lord, though you certainly have provided for my family when we had none – and have blessed me with an awesome wife, kids and house, but why do I feel like you haven’t rewarded me?”
And that’s when the Holy Spirit stepped in. He said, “because you don’t put God first.” He pointed out that I had mentioned family and work. But I had not mentioned God – let alone put Him first.
One might think that in that moment you would feel commended; a failure; let down. But, our God is a good God all the time. The Holy Spirit brought a warm feeling over me; He made me smile. I think God was smiling on me. I was thankful for the reminder and wanted to write it down. I know I honor God. I pray continuously nowadays. But, this was a great reminder from Him to keep Him first. Then, I believe and can expect because it’s in His Word, that he will reward.
For what it’s worth, keeping him First isn’t easy and has to be a constant, intentional action. Heck (there I go again), I wrote this post six years ago – I was struggling then like I am now. But, just like the definition of the word “Gospel,” we have the Good News in our lives to keep us going – as long as we focus on it.
Happy New Year, everyone. Keep this Good News in your heart this year. It’s going to be a great year.