All In

"O LORD, come back to us!

How long will you delay?

Take pity on your servants!

Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,

so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.

Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!

Replace the evil years with good.

Let us, your servants, see you work again;

let our children see your glory.

And may the Lord our God show us his approval

and make our efforts successful.

Yes, make our efforts successful!"

Psalm 90:13-17

If you have seen lean years, difficult years, make this your heart's cry: that God will replace the lean years with fat ones, allow you see God at work again, satisfy you with his unfailing love, and make your efforts successful. There's nothing wrong with this kind of prayer; it's in Scripture! God wants us to seek him in this way. Perhaps he waits until we do it with our whole heart before he'll answer.—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions


2010 was a lean year for us in so many ways.  But it wasn't just 2010, it was a series of the last few years that have been challenging, heartbreaking at times, and seemed to just go against us.  Though we were abundantly blessed and God provided in so many ways, they were also filled with experiences that we'd never faced before - the loss of loved ones, Scott's Dad's declining condition, my Dad's health, broken relationships, the first of our children leaving the nest, etc...  As we face 2011 this is my prayer...that the lean years of the past be replaced by fat ones where we can see God working once again in our lives!  And though I know there are still tough times ahead of us,  I have hope - hope in a God of unfailing love and unending mercy.  I know He is there even in the fiery trials of this life. 

So even if 2011 is another lean year, we can trust God with it and in it.  Circumstances and problems should never dictate or disrupt our relationship with God.  Instead, a healthy relationship with God should dictate to our circumstances and problems.  If we are 'all in' for God, then we can face the lean years with confidence that He will see us through it.

God is 'all in' for us - He sent His One and Only Son, Jesus, to die so that we could be saved!  He desires only the best for us.  But we must also be 'all in' for God.  Are you?
In His Love, Cathy