It is a brand-new year … 2023. As we gaze out into the future of this new year, we wonder what 2023 will hold. We think back to the things that defined our 2022. Some good … some, difficult.
God is already there … in the future of our 2023. God is already there, and He knows exactly what will happen in this coming year.
He will be with us through it all.
He will sustain us.
He will protect us.
He will provide for us.
“Do not worry. … Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” – Matthew 6:25-26
Here you can see a little hummingbird having its breakfast at our hummingbird feeder this morning. God has provided food for these little hummingbirds … through our hands.
Throughout this coming year of 2023, there will be times when God provides for your needs through the hands of someone else. Sometimes we don’t want to accept the generosity of others. We don’t want to appear weak or needy. But many of the good blessings God has for us, He gives through the hands of others.
Be open and receptive to the generosity of others. And thank God for the blessings He provides this next year, through the hands of others.
Here you can see our viburnum … which obviously the deer have very much been enjoying! God provided food for the deer … via our viburnum. The viburnum grew beautifully all summer, producing abundant new leaves and setting on the beginnings of what would be a beautiful display of white blooms for Christmas. As is clearly obvious, there were no white blooms for Christmas.
Throughout this coming year of 2023, there will be times when God calls you to provide for the needs of someone else. God wants to bless them … and He will want you to be His hands to do so.
Could God drop their blessing down out of the sky, or have the answer to their need suddenly appear? Of course. God can do anything.
But God does not work this way. Instead, God chooses to use the hands of ordinary people. He calls us to join Him in the work that He is doing. He invites us into being part of the blessing.
And as we use what God has placed in our hands to, in turn, meet someone else’s need and bless them … we ourselves are blessed.
Will it be inconvenient? Yes … .yes it will.
Will it cost? Yes … yes it will.
Will we sometimes feel like this viburnum? Yes … yes we will.
But God is faithful! He will not call us to do something which He will not provide for. God will always meet our needs! Especially when we are obedient to His call to meet the needs of others.
Here you can see hundreds of little maple seeds covering the snowy ground. Everywhere I looked, little maple seeds dotted the ground in every direction – God’s provision of food for the little squirrels, chipmunks, and birds.
The seeds were obvious, because it had snowed … therefore they stood out in sharp contrast to the snowy-white ground.
But what if it hadn’t snowed? Would all those little seeds have been there? Of course. Would all those little seeds have been noticed? No … not at all.
Oftentimes God’s blessings and provision in our lives are a lot like these little maple seeds … God is abundantly providing, but it’s “invisible” to us. This is why the practice of Gratitude is so very important! Taking time to deliberately notice and be thankful to God for His good provision and blessing in our lives.
Here is one more example of God’s provision … abundant food for the birds … in the middle of an icy cold wintery season.
As you head into this year of 2023, take comfort in the fact that God knows you … God sees you … and God will take care of you! No matter what 2023 holds, God will take care of you!
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? … Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” – Matthew 6:26, 34
