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“For I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me.”  Philippians 4:13 NLT 

 

“Jesus looked at them intently and said “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” Mark 10:27 NLT 

 

Happy 2025! (Seriously, where did 2024 go!?) Here, we are at the beginning of a New Year. Everything from 2024 is now consigned to the memory box. Good, bad or whatever it was, is now in the past. Many years ago, I read a quote that said, “I was born, I blinked, and I died”. The older I get the more that quote resonates with me! 

A few weeks ago, Pastor Thumbelina called me. We talked for a bit and then she said, “I have something to ask you”. Full disclosure, that made me a tiny bit nervous. Tiny is understating it. However, I said “Ask away”. I did not expect what she said. “You have a God given gift to be able to write beautifully, and I would like for you to write a devotional for the church. We can start weekly and go from there. Pray on it”. I immediately said, “Absolutely”. I clearly did not hear the “pray on it” part. I proceeded with my day.

Fast forward to about 9 hours later. I’m in bed and all of a sudden, this terrifying panic completely overcame me. I sat straight up in that bed. “Devotional?? I agreed to that?? I can’t do this, I’m not able to do this, I’m not that good of a writer, what will I write about, I don’t know anything about writing a devotional…” You get the point. I was actually sweating, and it was not a hot flash. I lay there trying to figure out how to say I couldn’t do this and not feel I was letting the Pastor and my church down. Amid all the chaos and chatter in my mind, I had a nano second of silence, and in that very second, I heard my Father. “Yes, you can do this, and I will help you, if you let Me”. (He might have stressed the “if you let Me“ part, not sure). I also was very aware of Him saying—not with words, but with a feeling—that He wanted me to do this because this was going to draw me so much closer to Him. 

I recognize and I say this with complete humility, that He gave me the ability to write. Since I was little, I have always been able to write. As I’ve gotten older, (much older), I realized I had nothing to do with it. I have sat and stared at a blank piece of paper or card more times than I can count, waiting for something to come and hearing silence. Yet do you know, how many times people have told me over the years my card or whatever I’ve written to them has brought them to tears? Actually, made them cry? Plenty. What I can say to you with 100% certainty is that they were not my words. Maybe 3 % were. What I came to understand is, they were all His words.  I pray and ask Him, “Father help me, give me the right words” and they come. Always. The same exact thing happens during Sunday services when I receive a message, and by the way, I was petrified in the beginning when I started to voice His messages out loud. I am purely a vessel. As I sit and write this, Brittany texted me explaining how we would do this, and I could send something to start 2025. I wrote back saying I would love to do that, but……I didn’t have anything to say.  And right after I pressed send, He said, “Write about that” and led me to the two scriptures at the beginning of this devotional. 

I know I am not alone when I say we all struggle when God calls us to do something way outside our “norm”. We struggle because we just cannot relinquish the fears of “I’m going to absolutely fail at this and make a complete idiot of myself and people will think….” Because when God tells us to do something (and you know when He is) the first thing we worry about is what people will think. Never mind what God is thinking when He tells you what He wants you to do, and you are listening to “that” voice instead of His. I am so grateful for His inexhaustible patience with us!  

 No matter how crazy it seems in the moment, try and remember He has never asked us, nor will He ever ask us to do ANYTHING alone. He has reminded us constantly that He is by our side, and He will never walk away and leave us.  Never. EVER! Nothing is certain in this life and not one of us knows what this new year will bring. But He does. Let’s stand strong on His promises that He will never leave or forsake us. And when He asks us to do something we think is pure insanity, (like writing a weekly devotional) let’s not just say we can’t but rather Father, with You by our side we can, and we will! 

 

Prayer for this week:

Dearest Lord, 

I know we let the voices of doubt and insecurity drown out Your voice. Father as we begin a new year, we ask that you wrap us in Your loving arms. Let it be Your voice we hear drowning out the lies the enemy bombards us with every day.  When our strength fails and we feel like we cannot do what You ask and we start to believe the lies, remind us that with You all things are possible. Fill us with Your strength to fight and we will be victorious. Surround us with Your love and peace everyday of this new year. Open new doors for us and walk through them with us. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray, Amen.