The Year of Our Lord 2023
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On the Jewish calendar, this is the year 5783 and it began on Sept. 25, 2022. For the rest of the Gregorian calendar world it is 2023 and it began at midnight on January 1, 2023.
Will the Savior return this year? We have waited for so long…….
Waiting. Waiting. Watching. Weary. Wanting. Wondering why…….
Word for the Year
I need a word for this year to cling to so I do not give up! Hmmmmmm. Expectations? No! “Our expectations destroy relationships,” according to Ann Voskamp in her book One Thousand Gifts. I concur. I grew up expecting my life to be Norman Rockwell perfect, Leave It to Beaver and The Brady Bunch wonderful. Problems resolved in thirty short minutes including commercial breaks! Wow, was I misguided or what? That is a fairytale! Life is a struggle and contentious and it has been since Eve bit into that piece of fruit that our DNA was changed.
Expectations
Expectations definition, according to Webster, is the “act of expecting.” It is anticipation and it is based on an assurance that it will be. I am not sure about you, but my expectations RARELY turn out as I “assume” they will be. My expectations are usually met with disappointment and frustration. Is there no one in whom I can put my trust and know that they will meet MY expectations? The answer is NO! And to be honest, I should never have expected ANYONE to meet MY expectations. This was delusional on my part!
Disappointment
So, does this apply to the LORD as well? YES! My disappointment in the Lord is ALWAYS based on MY expectations of His acting as I want Him to perform: heal Me, free Me, rescue Me, honor Me, bless Me, reward Me, eliminate the source of My sorrow, and the list goes on. He will do all these things but He does not reveal the method He will use, who or what He will use in my life, or how l-o-o-oong it will take.
Prayers all for “ME”
So what word will give me perspective about my expectations and how they grow or attempt to destroy my faith in what my God is able to do? Do you realize we pray our expectations? This just dawned on me! We expect God to heal when we ask and when He does not heal according to our expectations (healed here on earth and without time or need for medical care; give me a baby-THIS year; bring me prince charming and end my loneliness; drop a new job of my dreams in my lap without need to work, educate, or even apply. Do you see each prayer revolves around ME!).
Jesus Prayers
Jesus did not pray this way and His expectations were always based on His relationship with His Father and what His Father was doing! We can only base our expectations on an intimate relationship! This requires time, commitment, unselfish motives, putting aside our plans, and allowing time for all the “stars to align.”
Word for the year?
So, what word do I need to pray as Jesus prayed, and have my expectations match those of the Father? Relinquish? Abdicate? Forfeit? Throw in the towel?
Choices
The Jews had expectations that God did not meet! They were expecting a King riding on a white horse to free them from the oppression of the Romans. Because Jesus came as a suffering servant, riding on a donkey, stirring up the establishment, they called for His death and chose another Jesus. Jesus bar Abbas, aka, Barabbas. They chose Jesus, Son of God, giver of life over Jesus son of a father, a murderer. (Chew on this for a bit, it is overwhelming.)
Find where God is working and join Him
Our expectations of God’s plan can blind us to the beauty of what God is in the process of doing. Henry Blackaby, of Experiencing God fame, said, “Find where God is working, and join Him there!”
WATCH
So, my word for the coming year is WATCH. Watch and then join Him. I do not want to miss what He is doing in my life, my family, my community, or my church. Watching requires my full attention. It requires my eyes to be off of self and looking around me and really noticing the people, the places, the timing, the opportunities, and seeing what does not make sense because God’s way and what He is doing NEVER makes sense! This is why our expectations are not met.
I wonder?
I wonder, what will my watching teach me? “What to my wondering eyes will appear?” Who will come and impact my life? Where will He lead and will I follow? Watch and see.
Your Word for the year?
What is your word to focus on this year? We would love to know because it speaks volumes of what the Lord is doing in your life.
Happy New Year and may the Lord bless you greatly this year as we “watch” for His appearing!
By Ricky Lee James
Happy New Year fellow Treaders! WE thank you for your continued support! Let’s WATCH together and see this thing the Lord will do!
Yvonne Jones
