From Beginning to End

 January 1, 2021

While cleaning out my mother’s apartment last November, we had to decide what to do with all her books. According to Linda, bringing them home was not an option, so we boxed most of them up and gave them to our granddaughter Alex, who will in turn give them to Simba, a pastor she met while in Uganda a few years ago. A combination of devotionals and Bible textbooks collected over the course of about sixty years, I managed to save a few of them for my own use, including a small volume entitled Streams in the Desert, by Mrs. Charles Cowman.

Her Scripture choice for January 1 comes from Deuteronomy 11:11-12. “The land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.” —Deuteronomy 11:11-12 

The “land” we are entering today will have its hills and valleys, its ups and downs, but it is God’s land, God’s year, and he will be watching over it from now until December 31, 2021. We never know what a coming year will bring; we got blindsided last year. Perhaps we were a bit overconfident, walking through life with a swagger of invincibility. 2021 certainly knocked the wind out of our sails. That doesn’t mean we should stay in safe harbor for this next year. God’s eyes are on this year, from beginning to end, and if he sees it, he who loved us so much that he sent his Son to die on a cross for our eternal salvation will not allow into this year anything destructive. The only way we can be destroyed is by turning away from the God who sees and bowing before the deceptive gods of this world who allure with their siren song of prosperity without pain, harvest without sowing, and love without tears. 

Our God and Savior sees, and loves...and still is King of kings and Lord of lords. Let us praise his Name forevermore!