Expectations for 2012

Another year of reading through the Bible finishes with Zechariah and Revelation! Hallelujah! He has a plan that finishes well. Since my emphasis in reading this year was to mark every place that teaches the Sovereignty of God, you can only imagine how marked up my One Year Bible is. But, the point is that I have been thinking back over all that has happened in just this one year and praising God that He is sovereign over all.

Psa 31:15 in NLT says "My future is in your hands." Looking back to record heat in Oklahoma leaving drought conditions, the tsunami/earthquake in Japan, terrible tornadoes in the Southern states, a godly friend being murdered, prayer lists of many suffering with various diseases, economic instability in many countries, and even the dismantling of dictators in Egypt and Libya, I am extremely encouraged by the truth that God is sovereign and my future is in HIS hands!!

Since I joined the ranks of Senior citizens on Medicare, along with my other Beginner Baby Boomers of 1946, the reality of "life is short" hits home a bit more emphatically. But the same breath of any sense of life closing in on me is counterbalanced with a deepening sense and awe of my friendship and fulfillment in Christ. Experiencing His Presence ~ the one true God who is our strong one, all-powerful, exalted above all ~ brings such depth of peace amidst a troubling world that I truly delight in the thought of what He has for me in this next year of 2012. (After all, wasn't it only a couple of years ago everyone was panicked by Y-2K????)

Psa 46:1 - "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear." That verse hung on the walls of the homes where I grew up. Every time we moved, that framed reminder was hung in a prominent place. Those words were embedded in my mind before I was even aware of what they meant. And a second bedrock verse for me as a child was Psa 56:3 "What time I am afraid, I will put my trust in You." No wonder I live in the place of what the Psalmist said in 112:7.."(S)he does not fear bad news nor live in dread of what may happen; for (s)he is settled in her mind that Jehovah will take care of her."

And because "Our God sits in the heavens and He does as He wishes." (Psa 115:3), I can with joy and non-defensively proclaim "My future is in Your hands!" Don't let me set my heart --my basic expectations-- on anything less than You in 2012!!