¹⁹ But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:19 KJV

 I do not know what may await,
Or what the morrow brings;
But with the glad salute of faith,
I hail its opening wings;
For this I know — that in my Lord
Shall all my needs be met;
And I can trust the heart of Him,
Who has not failed me yet.

— E. Margaret Clarkson  (excerpt from ~ This I Know)

As we begin a new year, some may find it difficult to trust that God is truly in control of your life. That He wants good things for your life.

This may be partially based on bad things that have happened to you in the past, or experiences that seemed out of your control. It is easy to get caught up in failures from the past and to allow fears to creep in with the light of the new day – or the new year.

When fear takes hold, it is easier by far to run and hide, to give up, to let go. This is true whether it is in dealing with relationships, finances, in personal and life goals, or any number of things.

And yet, if we believe in Him, in His sovereign ability to care for us, to keep us, to want what is good for us, then we must let go of that which is behind and look forward to what is ahead.

Recently I went into a Barnes and Noble bookstore. Bookstores of any kind have always fascinated me, but a Barnes and Noble, now that is where every author dreams of being; to walk in and see one’s book on the shelves . . .   that reeks of success!  Right?

Well, perhaps.

Anyway, as I walked around the huge store, filled with thousands of books, it began to dawn on me how many millions of authors, and books, and words, there are in this world. How as a writer, I am just one tiny molecule in the bigger scope of things.

The more I looked at the shelves, the more I felt my dream of being a successful author dwindling. Before I knew it, I felt about as small as the tiniest ant, completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of what I am trying to accomplish.

And then it came to me. In and of myself, I can not do anything.

Oh, that doesn’t mean that I should stop working, stop being the best that I can possibly be in my chosen field.  However, what it does mean is that I cannot make this dream come about.

If God chooses not to bless me, and does not see this as a “good thing” in my life, then all my efforts are in vain. However, on the other hand, if I give all of me to Him, if I let Him have my vision, my heart, if I truly give Him my life, then there are no limits to what He can bring about on my behalf.

As I sat in a woven chair on the Starbucks side of the store, sipping on a cup of coffee, remembering the vision that the Lord gave me so long ago, of writing books and stories that glorify Him, a hope welled up within me. A hope that was not in and of myself, not of my own abilities and efforts, but a HOPE that in Christ Jesus anything is possible.

He has not failed me yet. He will not fail me in the years to come. Whether I ever see my name on a New York bestseller list or not, He has already given me abundantly more than I could ever hope or dream of, I see His blessings on every side.

This year is simply a new beginning of what He has in store for the the next phase of my life. I will trust in Him.