The land whither ye go to possess it is a land of hills and valleys and drinketh water of the rain of heaven; a land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even to the end of the year. (Deuteronomy 11:11-12)

Today, dear friends, we stand upon the verse of the unknown. There lies before us the new year and we are going forth to possess it. Who can tell what we shall find? What new experiences, what changes shall come, what new needs shall arise? But here is the cheering, comforting, gladdening message from our Heavenly Father, “The Lord thy God careth for it.”

All our supply is to come from the Lord. Here are springs that shall never dry; here are fountains and streams that shall never be cut off. Here anxious one, is the gracious pledge of the Heavenly Father. If He be the Source of our mercies they can never fail us. No heat, no drought can parch that river, “the streams whereof make glad the city of God.”

The land is a land of hills and valleys. It is not all smooth nor all down hill. If life were all one dead level the dull sameness would oppress us; we want the hills and the valleys. The hills collect the rain for a hundred fruitful valleys. Ah, so it is grace and brings down the shower of blessing; the hills, the bleak hills of life that we wonder at and perhaps grumble at, bring down showers. How many have perished in the wilderness, buried under its golden sands, who would have lived and thriven in the hill-country; how many would have been killed by the frost, blighted with winds, swept desolate of tree and fruit but for the hill- stern, hard, rugged, so steep to climb. God’s hills are a gracious protection for His people against their foes!

We cannot tell what loss and sorrow and trial are doing. Trust only. The Father comes near to take our hand and lead us on our way today. It shall be a good, a blessed new year!–Streams in the Desert

He leads us on by paths we did not know;
Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow,
Though oft we faint and falter on the way,
Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day;
Yet when the clouds are gone,
We know He leads us on.
He leads us on through all the unquiet years;
Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts and fears,
He guides our steps, through all the tangled maze
Of losses, sorrows, and o’er clouded days;
We know His will is done;
And still He leads us on.
–Nicholaus Ludwig Zinzendorf

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

We leave many things behind us, as we go on. We can never go back again over the closing year. We never go over any life-path a second time. We never pass a second time through any experience. We have infancy once, childhood once, youth once, manhood and womanhood once, old age once, and we die once. We are forever leaving things, places, conditions, and experiences behind us. But through all these, we have the same Christ, unchanged, unchanging.

The Christ of childhood and of youth remains the Christ of manhood and of old age. Whatever changes the years bring to us—we must ever keep our eyes on the living Christ. He will always be all we need. There will never be a path which he cannot find for us and show us. There will never be a dark valley which he cannot light up for us. There will never be a battle which he cannot fight for us. There will never be an experience through which he cannot safely take us. We are leaving the old year behind, but we are not leaving Christ in the dead year. We need not be afraid, therefore, to go forward, if we go with him. We have not passed this new way before, and it is all strange to our inexperience; but Christ knows and he will guide us, and all will be well—if we put our hand in his.–J. R. Miller, 1894

Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done–Luke 22:42

Someone has said that these words of Jesus are the most difficult—and most important—words that we can learn in any language: not my will, but Thine, be done.

To say these words sincerely and from the heart takes conviction, courage, and faith. It means trusting that God really is wiser than you are and really does love you more than you love yourself. It means trusting, like Jesus trusted, in the perfect wisdom of God.

Although Jesus’ will was always in perfect harmony with His Father’s (John 6:38-39), ours often is not. The things that we assume would make us happy and contented He seems to withhold from us at times, and the things we seek to avoid are the very things that He frequently allows into our lives.

Is there some sickness, heartache, pain, instability, demotion, or tension that you are facing at the moment? Rather than looking for the nearest exit from your trial—by whatever means you can devise—turn to God first and take your need to Him in prayer. The same God who created your world can certainly sustain, heal, strengthen, and direct your life.

Pray for deliverance; pray for strength; pray for direction… and pray, “Not my will, but Thine, be done.” These words are difficult, because they hand the most precious parts of our life over to God. But they are liberating, because they recognize that we are in God’s hands anyway and, if we understood the situation perfectly, we would certainly want whatever God wants for us.

Dear believer, there is no prayer (outside, of course, a prayer for something that is already revealed in God’s Word as sinful) that you cannot take to God with these precious words: not my will, but Thine, be done.–“A Good Thing”

Although sinful and stubborn, people continue to crave blessings from God. Even as our nation is in out-right rebellion against God we sing, “God bless America”. And many who knowingly disobey God nevertheless pray for showers of blessings. It was this that caused A. W. Tozer to write:

No matter what I write here, thousands of pastors will continue to call their people to prayer in the forlorn hope that God will finally relent and send revival if only His people wear themselves out in intercession. To such people God must indeed appear to be a hard taskmaster, for the years pass and the young get old and the aged die and still no help comes. The prayer meeting room becomes a wailing wall and the lights burn long, and still the rains tarry.

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Let any reader begin to obey and he will have the answer. “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21).

Isn’t that what we want after all?

Dear friend, passionate prayers, sensational singing, powerful preaching, and generous giving cannot bring blessings if we refuse to obey God. Only by cheerful and loving obedience to His perfect will can we claim His precious promises and expect His best blessings.

“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great.” – Luke 6:35

Serving God means different things to different people. Sadly most miss the mark. To them service for God means having a title, holding an office, possessing a certain amount of talent, traveling to foreign countries,–big things that get lots of attention. The truth is, it’s the so-called “little things” that mean the most. Serving God is within the reach of every child of God, if they are willing to do the “little things” required by the Word of God.

Adrian Rogers said, I’ve seen bumper stickers that exhort us to “show random acts of kindness.” I think that’s a good thing. And what is kindness? It’s love in the little things.

A woman came down the aisle of a church to give her heart to Christ, and the preacher wanted to know what had impacted her life for Christ.

She said, “You did.”

The pastor said, “Well, I’d be interested to know what it was that I said that brought you to Christ.”

She said, “It was nothing you said. It was something you did. I was standing nearby when somebody criticized you very unfairly. I saw the kindness with which you responded, and I knew that your faith was real.”

What random act of kindness can you do today that will demonstrate that your faith is real?