There are complexities of life that I don't understand,
Misunderstandings, confusion, that I can't untangle,
Hurts, anger, bitterness that I cannot rectify.
(What about you?)

The future is a shadowed road,
shot through with beams of light I know--
but the mist is over everything else.
(Are you unsure of your future, too?)

What is the right way to turn?
What direction does the road curve?
I don't have the map.

So, I will have to rely on the One who does. . .and Who has mapped it all with infinite wisdom and loving care. . . .and He will guide me, and His Word will be my light;
 His eye pierces the swirl of confusion and reads all hearts, and He will make things clear in His time.
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". . .God is greater than our heart, and knows all things."

 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts."

As the first day of this new year draws to a close, I don't know what is coming--
what this year holds for me, let alone what it holds for you and the rest of the world. 
Not surprising, eh?  I'm a mortal just like you, with limited knowledge.
 (And more than my share of cluelessness, sometimes!)

If we did know exactly what is going to occur in our lives in 2009--
what temptations, sorrows, joys, changes, etc. it will bring us--
I doubt the information would really be of much help to us. 
I know you might be saying, "Whoa!  Just let me know what really dumb things
I'm going to be tempted to do, and I'll be absolutely certain to avoid them!"
--but hear me out. 
We succumb to temptations not just because we didn't know they were coming
(hey, more often than not we knowingly walk up to them!)--
we fall because we have not built up resistance, by God's grace, against those sins.
 We've got the whole Bible to tell us about what temptations we're going to run into
 and how to avoid them, and what the consequences will be of caving in, folks! 

 If we knew what sorrows were coming into our lives,
I'm afraid we would be likely to flinch,
 to dread the prospect of what may very well be a painful--
but incredibly amazing--crucible of refinement in the hands of our Lord. 
I can't say I like pain or sorrow--in fact, quite the opposite!--
and I'm sure that, in my weakness,
I would have gladly avoided some pretty sharp thorns that have come into my life
 in the last few years--not seeing at the time the lovely rose that God was growing among them. 

We might gloat over coming joys and successes and forget to live our days humbly,
 following God and loving our fellow men.
 If it's such a temptation to get puffed up over the great things
 that we just think will happen to us
(whether we're accurately surmising or just wishing away),
 then think how much harder the struggle would be
 if we knew for certain we were going to ace that exam, get that raise, win that special one's attention, etc. 
It is much better to remember "humble yourself in the presence of the Lord,
and He will exalt you." and  "He who exalts himself will be humbled,
and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (James 4:10 & Matthew 23:12)

Even with the knowledge of the future that has been given us, we often don't live as though we're very aware.
  I don't mean knowledge of 2009 in specifics,
but knowledge about the whole "final chapter" of this earth
 and the events leading up to it [think Daniel and Revelation]--
as well as the always applicable "choices and consequences" that the Bible profiles for us
(everything from telling us of the troubles we will encounter
to warning us that our sins will find us out).
On one hand we talk about the fragility of human life or the impending return of the Lord Jesus Christ,--
on the other hand, we pour so much time, energy, and focus into vaporous things
and neglect to nourish our own hearts with Spiritual food, or to share about Christ's saving power. 

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise;
 redeeming the time / making the most of the time, for the days are evil.

Now, we're not supposed to be afraid of 2009, either.  For all those things that we do not know--the bad things and the good--are known to our Heavenly Father, God.  There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that God does not know. But the comfort goes deeper than that.  God isn't just a fellow sitting on the sidelines who happens to know exactly how the game is going to be played.  No! God is the Ruler and the Sovereign;
 nothing is going to happen but that He in His wisdom allows. 
That doesn't make Him responsible for our sins,
or imply that He takes delight in the awful repercussions of sin, like death,--not a chance, God is perfectly holy and infinitely loving!--but it does mean that He's working out His plan, and it's good.
To quote from a song I love,
" God and God alone
Reveals the truth of all we call unknown;
All the best and worst of man
Won't change the Master's Plan,
It's God's and God's alone!"

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Tuesday (Dec. 30), I stumbled across 1 Chronicles 29. 
Verses 10-20 are my verses for 2009.  I'll quote them here:

So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly;
and David said, "Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever.
 Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory
 and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth;
 Thine is the dominion, O Lord, and Thou dost exalt Thyself as head over all.
Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou dost rule over all,
 and in Thy hand is power and might;
and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone.
Now therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name.
But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this?
 For all things come from Thee, and from Thy hand we have given Thee.
For we are sojourners before Thee, and tenants, as all our fathers were;
our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope.
O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided
to build Thee a house for Thy holy name, it is from Thy hand, and all is Thine.
Since I know, O my God, that Thou triest the heart and delightest in uprightness,
 I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things;
 so now with joy I have seen Thy people, who are present here,
make their offerings willingly to Thee.
O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers,
preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Thy people,
and direct their heart to Thee;
 and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Thy commandments,
Thy testimonies, and Thy statutes, and to do them all,
and to build the temple, for which I have made provision."
Then David said to all the assembly, "Now bless the Lord your God."
And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers,
and bowed low and did homage to the Lord and to the king.
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Thank you everyone for taking the time to read and encourage me this past year!  Thank you all also for all your entries which have impacted me.
 Praying for God's guidance and blessings in your lives in 2009,
 JoAnna

Ester Reid

--Asleep and Awake--

by Isabella Alden
written in 1870, I believe.
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