things i want to remember in '10 -- 5

5. God is not defined by my circumstances.

I look back at 2009 and see a landscape full of valleys and mountains, dark shadows and bright sunbeams...of good days, bad days, ups and downs, dry times in my walk with the Lord, weeks filled with a desire just to be with Him. And I look forward on this year, knowing that it will, no doubt, be just the same.

But I don't have to stress out or worry about all the scary, discouraging, or unexpected things that might happen to me. Because although my circumstances change, my God does not.

Psalm 102:25-27 - "Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end."
If this idea that God doesn't change is true, then God's goodness doesn't change. His love doesn't end. He's just as much with me in the shadows as in the sunlight. He is faithful. He never loses the strength to rescue me. He doesn't come and go depending on who's president or how the economy is. He won't betray me. His promises about salvation and eternal life won't change.
No, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (hebrews 13:8)

One of my theme songs is "The Desert Song" by Brooke Fraser, where the bridge sings, "All of my life, in every season, You are still God and I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship."
Whatever things come my way this year, I still have a reason to sing and worship. because I have God.