When 2022 rang in the new year, I had no idea what it would hold. For our family, there were definite high points: my husband, Tim, released his new book The Beauty Chasers, the culmination of years of study in Oxford. We embarked on a national book tour and spent many of our days on the road. The pixies were able to see parts of the country they had never seen before.
But there were also low points: the unexpected loss of a dear friend at Thanksgiving, drought in business endeavors, everyday disappointments.
As I reflect on the year that was, I realize life rarely unfolds how we envision. There are twists and turns, roadblocks and detours that threaten to overwhelm our spirits. It’s often easy to give up, or at least let our hopeful expectations release.
Maybe you are there?
Do you wish you could rewrite last year? Are you tired of hoping when disappointment looms heavy?
And yet…
Even in the midst of disappointments, I can honestly look back on this year and see the goodness of God. It is real. It is powerful. It is sure.
Psalm 65:11 is a beautiful verse to hold on to for the year ahead, and my hope is that these words encourage your spirit as they have mine:
“You crown the year with Your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.”
You crown the year with Your bounty.
This year—2023— is encompassed with His goodness. Dare we say, His bounty?
Bounty in a time of want, need? Can 2023 be a year of blessing?
This verse reminds that God’s love encircles any year. We just need to look for it.
Look to Him
The traces of God’s goodness can be seen in the most unlikely places. It does not matter which direction we turn—His favor is there, waiting for us.
If we look to Him for spiritual bounty during the months ahead, we will discover His holy harvest. Bounty rich of kindness, love, and compassion.
Sometimes we simply need to take the time to see. To look. To observe.
When you look to Him, what do you notice? Are you able to see traces of bounty even in the midst of drought? Do you discover diamonds forged in the hardest moments of your days?
In The Beauty Chasers, Tim shares the power of seeing:
“I was thankful to have taken the time that day, time to see. It reminded me that the days possess calamity and wonder, and both come under God’s purview. But what he is most concerned about in both is whether I see him.”
“When we slow down, the world meets us with epiphany. When we attend, our eyes quicken our hearts. When we see, we notice God.”
Friends, let’s slow down and see. Let’s look to Him.
Encompassed by Him
When we look to Him, we will notice we are encompassed by Him. To encompass is to surround and have or hold within.
Will you believe that in the year of 2023 God has you, He holds you, He is surrounding you?
The beauty of this verse is that when the Psalmist described Jehovah crowning the year with bounty, the word “crown” here is the same word used in Psalm 5:12 where he writes, “You surround me with your favor as with a shield”. His crowning is a surrounding.
Friends, we cannot escape this love of His. He surrounds us with His bounty. We are encompassed by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is no piece of our lives that He does not hold. Each month, every day, all moments of 2023 are His.
Constant kindness traces our days. We cannot squirm our way out of His bounty, no matter how hard we try. We are encompassed by Him.
So as you consider this new year and reflect on 2022 will you believe that 2023 can be a year of blessing, a year of His bounty? Will you look to Him to see that His tracks do indeed overflow with abundance?
In the words of Matthew Henry,
“Every part of the year has been enriched with blessings of heaven.”
And so will 2023, my friends.
This reminded me of something Suleika Jaouad wrote the other day...how she made a folder on her cell phone photos called 2022 and looked for photos of wonderful times she experienced last year. I did the same thing and really saw all the moments of joy, the awe I felt in God's creation, and the loved ones I got to spend time with. I have Tim's book and love it so much.
I loved Tim's book, The Beauty Chasers, and it confirmed, lifted to a higher level, and increased my ability to "see more." I have also spoken of it and beauty to many others. May the book prosper and give God glory! As for the past year, or any year, I expect to see in 2023 the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord in this enemy-occupied territory we live in as God leads us through the minefield that He has permitted and has already redeemed all errant steps within it as we cling to Jesus. Because everything He touches comes to life!