He Leads Us for Another Year

"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 unto the end of the year" (Deut. 11:11-12).

I like the Streams in the Desert devotional today. It speaks of the well known fact that we are standing on the verge of the unknown. There is a new year stretching out before us and we are going in now to possess it. Isn't that quite a thought? There are, in every year, hills and valleys and never can we expect everything to go smoothly. As we go in to possess this year and whatever it brings, my prayer for each of us is that we will never lose sight of the fact that it is our God who leads us in the year ahead, as He did in the year that we're journeying out of. Some of us have experienced the valleys and they have been deep ones. Some of us have had somewhat of a difficult time climbing the steep mountains. But He has been leading us, yes?

May you take the hand of your merciful, compassionate, and loving Lord through the days of 2009 and have the full awareness in your heart of hearts that He is leading you and me through each second, minute, and hour.

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'erclouded days;
We know His will is done;
And still He leads us on.
--N.L. Zinzendorf