I want to wake up every morning in 2009 with a deep sense of hope and expectation that God is at work in my life. I want to enter into each new day with fresh faith that God is going to use me to fulfill His purposes for His own glory "so that my joy will be full".
To do that, I want to wake up each morning with these three prayer-thoughts in my mind:
- "God, because I am in Christ I know there is nothing I can do today that would make you love me any more than you do right now, and there's nothing I have done that makes you love me any less." As Martin Luther noted, the human heart is hardwired to default into works-righteousness (my acceptance and worth is based on how well I perform). This sentence helps me grasp the free, complete grace I have in Christ. According to John 17, God loves me now as much as He loves Jesus. Wow! Therefore, the idea that I can add to or take away from His love, then, is absurd.
- "God, your presence and approval is all I need to have joy today." This sentence helps war against my natural proclivity to idolatry. As John Calvin said, the human heart is an idol factory. We turn almost everything good into an idol, looking to it for happiness rather than God Himself. This sentence helps me remember that I don't need worldly praise, monetary blessing, success, or even "happiness" to have joy.
- "God, everything Your Word tells me about your intentions for my life is TRUE." In the Word, God shows me that His intentions for me are blessing not cursing, hope not despair, resurrection not death. This completely charges me up to go into the day. I realize that God's intentions for me, my family, and my ministry are good beyond even my wildest imaginations. The sky is literally the limit (Psalm 103) on the power and salvation He wants to work in and through me.
Meditating on these things allows me to leave the house completely filled up on the Holy Spirit. It is meditation on the the truth of the Word of God (Phil 4:8-9; Gal 3:2) that fills us with presence of God.
I was reading the newspapers this morning and all it paints is a new year filled with uncertainties and gloom. But because I came to the newspapers only after I gave myself to the Word, I was unshakened. God is able to turn the worse situations to the best of His glory. That makes 2009 an exciting year, doesn't it?
I pray those three daily meditations will undergird you with faith and strength in 2009.
Have a blessed new year!
