God – Our Exceedingly Great Reward

Happy New Year! It’s 2019! I’m thankful for the New Year and the blessings all wrapped up daily for me to unfold. God’s name be praised. 2019 is off to a start and given our tradition across all cultures and religions, the Year is given a name.

So, you probably have named your Year or it has been named for you, that’s interesting and good, I name mine too in the direction the Holy Spirit needs my Focus.

This Year I have called it the Year of the Deep- I desire for more depth in my relationship with God. However, ONE thing remains, a year is a time cycle; life will always happen, we will always desire the best, we may or may not get it, we will encounter ups and downs, we will be disappointed, we will rejoice, there will be deaths and births, we will war and we will be at peace, there will be gains and losses, nevertheless, GOD should be our only focus and in His very words “our exceedingly great reward”.

"After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."

Our text is taken from Exodus 15:1

In the text above, God was about to go into a covenant with Abram, He had called Him out of his father’s land to a new journey. Abram did not know what this journey would be like but he trusted God enough to leave his safety and obey. He chose God. God then took Abram on a journey of faith of which we have taken good examples from in our walk with God.

It’s just like 2019, we cannot see beyond the present second, but we have an awesome God who sees the end from the beginning, truth be told, sometimes years are named out of anxiety and hope for a better year than the last, however today the Holy spirit is calling us to the place of complete surrender and obedience to our Father, an understanding that without God, there is no year, no 2019. How may this be?

In the times of weakness, His Joy strengthens you,
In the times of war, He fights for you and hands you the victory
In the times of despondency, He gives you hope through His Word
In the times of grief, His Spirit comforts you,

Everyday, He daily loads you with an advantage to be successful
Everyday, His mercies rise over you as the sun kisses the sky in the morning
Everyday, He clothes you with Joy and thanksgiving
Everyday, the rising and the setting of the Sun reminds us of His everlasting promise

His Love for you is never failing, relentless, it never gives up on you
His Faith in you never wavers, He believes only His best for you
His Will is good, pleasing and perfect, your journey is planned for good
His Patience guides you to a place of safety in Him

Be not afraid, 2019 is there for the taking. He is our shield, our exceedingly great reward. There’s no other way but His.
© OFM

Prayer

Prayer for this week

Lord lead me always in 2019, I surrender to your Will. In Jesus name Amen.

Charge

Charge for this week

Ask the Holy Spirit for a deeper revelation of sticking to God always no matter what the year brings and prayerfully follow through with His instructions.