2016. As I sat alone with God this morning, my number one
question for Him was, “What do you want from me this year?” I didn’t ask for a
better year—more joy, more love, more money—I asked what I might do in order to
bring God more glory. You see, I know 2016 has to be better than 2015. One
cannot possibly suffer more than I did last year. So, instead of focusing on “more”
I am focusing on “less”—less of me, less resistance, less whining.
Isaiah 55 may be one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.
It begins with an imperative given by God:
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy
wine and milk without money and without cost.” Everything we need is within
our grasp! All we need do is go to the source. When we seek Him first we will
find more! I know many may look at my life and say, “What do you mean? You
sought God first and look what happened to you! You do not have more! You have less!” I know what my circumstances are. I get that sentiment. Yes,
from a worldly perspective, I have less—no husband, no father for my children, less
money and a smaller house. However, from a spiritual standpoint, we have more—more
of God, more faith, more love. And even from a materialistic viewpoint, we are
still very blessed! We still have more than 90% of the world. I hate to think
how I would have survived this without God. In all reality, I may not have. It
was too brutal, too harsh, too much! So, it is easy for me to stand on the cusp
of 2016, and resolve to seek God first and ask what He wants from me.
I may never understand this side of heaven why we have
endured the loss of 2015; yet I know my vision is obstructed by what stands
right in front of me. I cannot see miles into the future and what lies ahead on
the path. I cannot see what is waiting for me, but I do know that today is preparing
me for what does. Every day I am in training for what God has in store for my
future. As Isaiah 55:9 states, “As the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my
thoughts than your thoughts.” I’m okay with that. He has never failed me,
never forsaken me. And I know that sometime in the future, I will “go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the
mountains and hills will burst into song” before me. Perhaps that is what waits for me in 2016. And
because I know what my future holds, I will ask God, “What do you want from me?”
