I’m hoping that 2012 will be a good year but it is likely to be a mixture of good and bad. Whatever 2012 may bring, Jesus will be faithful to me and I will depend upon, Jesus.
I’m writing this on the first day of 2012 and I can’t believe that we are already, twelve years into the new century. I recall the things that science fiction writers dreamed this century would hold and I’m amazed at how many of those fantasies have become reality. It proves to me that faith is important and what we hope for, is often likely, to come to pass. Human beings are engineered to imagine and then make what we imagine, reality. God has given us this power and sadly, we misuse it. We bring evil into the world as often as we produce good; and when we do create something useful and good, someone else will find a way to use it for evil. The world created by man is a product of the human heart and since the things we imagine often, come to pass, it is very important to be careful about what we hope for. What we believe in shapes our world; and therefore, who and what we believe in is very important. Faith in Jesus will produce that which is of Christ’s character while faith in one’s self only, produces the chaos that currently, fills the world. Jesus is my refuge from the chaos of man and my own heart; and I know that whatever 2012 may bring, I can depend upon, Jesus.
I’m not young anymore and I’ve believed in , Jesus and hoped for his return, for nearly 35 years. It is that belief and hope that is the substance of my faith. I’ve lived through many hardships and Jesus endured all of them with me. He never abandons me and when my faith becomes weak, I ask and He gives me more faith so that I not only endure the present circumstance but eventually, overcome. There have been times when I was too weak and in too much pain to ask for more faith or even care if I lived, or died, or if God was with me. In those times, He believed for me, and rescued me from my despair. I have lived through many seasons in sweet companionship with, Jesus and I’ve also known spiritual winter when my faith seemed to become stagnant and dry. However, that spiritual winter is a product of my emotions and not the reality of my spiritual condition, which doesn’t depend on me but upon, Jesus alone. No matter if destruction comes at me from within or from without, Jesus preserves me. He keeps me in right standing with God, Whom I’m able to call my Heavenly Father, only because of what, Jesus has done for me.
I’m growing older and my body is weakening a little more each day. It requires more and more of my time to remain healthy, strong, and be able to contribute to the world I live in. Though outwardly, I grow more feeble each day, on the inside, I am growing stronger and spiritually, more viable. The things that are visible are all mortal and passing away; but the things that are invisible, spiritual, those are the things that will never pass away. That is the process that is, Jesus in me; that as I become weaker, He becomes stronger and someday, I will awake with His likeness. By the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, the eternal qualities of Christ’s character are being formed in me. This is the joy I have in, Jesus and that joy is indestructible, just as the spiritual is indestructible. This is my place of refuge, as I live in a world created out of the chaos of the human heart. There is no evil that can touch me there, no matter how the world rages. This is the eternal life that, Jesus has given me for simply, believing and putting my faith in, Jesus alone. It is the reason I know that whatever 2012 brings, I can depend upon, Jesus.
