Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am He, I am He who will SUSTAIN you. I have MADE you and I will CARRY you; I will SUSTAIN you and I will RESCUE you. (Isaiah 46:4/Emphasis added)

It’s a New Year! Some of us positively dream of a new year ahead. We have been weary and overwhelmed over the past few years. Many of us are just getting our heads above the water, praying, we will be lifted up and not crashed down by another wave. Others move cautiously, reading the headlines and imagining the worst. I gave up the news and television years ago. It always depressed me. I may scan a few headlines and pray for some heartbreaking situations, but I’ve chosen this year, more than ever, to choose joy and to always trust God.

As I have done in the past several years, I had planned to read through the Bible. I don’t do it for a “Hey, look how holy I am” reason. I do it to know God more intimately each day. This is why each year I read from a different version of the Bible and use a different reading plan. But something strange happened!! I didn’t get to read the first ten days of the year because of some health issues, and there were some other personal time-depleting circumstances. I tried to begin with Genesis 1 on January 11th but soon found that I was just rush reading and not really meditating on God’s word or listening to what He wanted to say to me. I decide to skip the previous days and begin the reading for the date it was. January 13th, Genesis 37.

Only God…I marveled, pondered, and was even amused that God would start my reading this year with Joseph. I know Joseph well. I have studied his story many times. His rejection and abuse are familiar and personal. But it’s his faithfulness that I have aspired for. He was crushed… he was deeply broken… he was forgotten… but the Lord was always with Him. Joseph trusted God, despite what happened to him. Joseph was sold into slavery at age seventeen and didn’t begin his higher position working under Pharoah until he was age thirty!

Have you grown impatient with God’s timing? I know I have at times.

I was blessed as God showed me new insights through Exodus and the Israelite’s rescue and journey toward the promised land.

Enter January 23, 2023, or 1/23/23.

The day before I had watched an amazing sermon. The pastor was emphasizing not to focus on the entire year of 2023 – as none of us truly knew what would happen in the world this year (not that we ever know what will happen), but to focus on one day, committed to the Lord, with a desire, “A priority and desire to navigate the natural world with a supernatural mindset.” I am a very symbolic, visual person, but let me clarify that this isn’t some magic ritual… just a symbolic day to see what God’s word is to each of us. I prayed that night God would put a hedge of protection around my morning. I was open to however He wanted to use me.

The point of the sermon? What are your priorities? What are you required to do as a believer? What is your purpose? What is your desire?

God never disappoints us when we dedicate uninterrupted time to reading His Word and listening to what He has to say. The morning before I woke, I had a three-point dream, and earlier in the night a reminder of what God had first rescued me from. I need you to know that I never remember dreams. Normally, when I wake up, my dreams sprint off like an Olympic runner. Not this time… still to this day, I remember every point God showed me.

• The first rescue… and there were many more over my life.
• The loss of a gift… God took it away because of pride.
• An opportunity to help someone, and in the dream I didn’t help… so someone else did. This is a reminder that if we don’t do what God asks us to, He will get someone else to do the job. What a significant loss that would be for us!
• The only point I could not interpret was a child who was poor and needed water. I tried to help but couldn’t… then I awoke. I’m still listening for guidance on that one.

January 23, 2023’s reading was Exodus, chapters 17 and 18.

Write this down on a scroll as a reminder.

Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that confronted them on the way, and how the LORD rescued them.

Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the LORD had done for Israel when he rescued them from the power of the Egyptians. “Blessed be the LORD,” Jethro exclaimed.

Then Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God…

I know what God has done in my life – some of it miraculous. Does my life inspire others? I pray so. Not what I’ve done but what the LORD has done.

So my worship, offering, and sacrifice to God, among other things, is the book telling of His marvelous ways. It doesn’t matter what others think. It’s what God has called me to do. It’s between God and me.

I am not as old as some young people think I am but the years are passing quickly. The point is, though, I have God’s promises, the same as you for this moment. God has rescued me in ways you would not believe! More than once! God has cared for me, carried me, sustained me all of my life. May the glory and honor be given to Him.

What about you? January 23rd has passed, but again, it wasn’t a magical day. You can pray right now that God would meet with you tomorrow. He can do more than you can imagine or dream of!! (Ephesians 3:20).

Why would you not want to see what God can do through you??

SERMON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg-dxlE_Slg – A Supernatural Mindset in a Natural World. Louie Giglio