Trust

Goodbye, 2019 and hello, 2020! Here we are again. Another year is winding down to a close. Don’t worry. There is a brand new one just waiting to take 2019’s place. The years seem to come faster and faster anymore.

How did 2019 treat you? Whether this has been your best, worst, or just an average year, it is time to take inventory and plan for the next one. Do you have expectations for this coming year, 2020, or yourself? A new year is exciting. It’s like getting a blank piece of paper to begin a new chapter in your story. Exhilarating, isn’t it?! The promises it holds are limitless.

What are your plans to escort the old year out and the new year in? Will you go out and celebrate or choose to party quietly at home? The past few years we have opted for the latter. Watching a movie and switching over to see the ball drop is exciting enough for my hubby and me.

The majority of people begin the year with a resolution or two. Not a bad idea, but how many resolutions make it all year? Grand plans and hopes turn to ashes when someone offers a piece of homemade fudge or favorite cookie. Even a 75% off sale can crash plans for saving money. My hubby made a resolution a decade or more ago that he continues to keep……”to stop making New Year’s resolutions.” Perhaps I should try that one. My resolutions don’t seem to make it very long. How about yours?

One tradition that I do at the end of each year is to review my prayer list. On it is usually one item that looms greater than any of the others. If you have a prayer list you know the one I mean. It is the one you give over to Jesus to handle and take to the Father. Then later that day you start fretting over it again, take it back, and give suggestions to Him on how to work it out. You pick it back up and cannot seem to give it away. It is your Velcro problem. It seems to stick with you no matter what.

The problem is so big and seems unsolvable. Oh, but I have great news for you. God is bigger and more powerful than anything. Period. He is also in the business of miracles.

This is my solution to permanently give it over to Abba. I take a piece of paper and jot down that problem which has now become a mountain. Then I pray about it, completely surrendering it to Jesus, throw the paper in the fireplace, and I watch it burn. As it is eaten up by flames and disintegrated, I give thanks that the problem is out of my hands and into His. I have totally relinquished it to my Maker. He is doing what needs done according to His perfect will. Before my prayer ends the paper has turned to ashes, tears stream down my cheeks, and my worry has vanished. I am at peace. Shalom.

Try it with one of your problems that has grabbed you and refuses to let go. God says not to worry. We can do that only by praying and turning things over to Him. He is good and He is faithful. God won’t let us down. In fact, He will give us His perfect peace. Go into 2020 with one less issue hanging over your head, and with you holding onto Jesus’s hand. Give it to Him. Trust Him. He has this, He has 2020, and He has you!

Since my husband has retired we spend almost all of our time together. Good thing we still love each other very much! Honestly, it is what I have been anticipating for many years, our time.

He never was one to do anything in the kitchen except lick the spoons or steal some cookie door off of the sheet right before I popped it into the oven. It made me ponder how my friends had gotten so lucky to have husbands that cooked. Not mine. He is a self proclaimed “eater”. Without eaters the world would not need cooks is his logic. (lol)

Last week I was preparing dinner. A simple beef roast with vegetables in my Rockcrok, a slow cooker. All of a sudden I had a supervisor. “Those potatoes need to be cut in quarters instead of halves.” my husband gingerly stated. Having gotten away with that a minute later he stopped me and said “Whoa, you have enough carrots in there.” Now I was getting a bit irritated. The final straw was when he asked “Do you always use that many herbs and keep the celery leaves on? Maybe that’s too much.”

I don’t tell him how to run things in the yard or take care of the vehicles, because I have no experience. He knows so much more than I do in those areas. Just like I know so much more about cooking than he does.

As soon as that comparison came to my mind, so did something else. How many times have I done the same thing with God? Ouch! Have I really tried to give advice or tell the Creator of the Universe what to do? Well, yes, I guess I have.

There have been times I have taken things to Him in prayer, and instead of asking that His will be done or for His help, I have listed what needed to be done. Have you ever done that? I would pray asking Him to do specific things so that the end result would be what I thought I needed. How ridiculous is that? The child giving instructions to the all knowing Father? Unsolicited advice being given to the One that directs us?

Scripture tells us in Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Abba doesn’t need a work order from me. His way is perfect. He already knows what needs done and what will happen. All I need to do is lift my request to Him. God knows exactly what needs to be done. He is not waiting for my suggestions on how to solve a crisis.

My prayers now take a different tone. I know God knows and does what is best. When I pray I take my concerns to Him, thank Him for being bigger than any issue I have, and leave it with Him. Believe me, it isn’t always easy. Sure I would love to include my suggestions but that would be silly. Jehovah is our powerful God. He isn’t our God that needs help.

Think about this the next time you pray for something. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Ask Him for help not if He needs any.

Goodbye, 2019, and Hello, 2020

Unsolicited Advice