“Rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances…” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
In less than 8 hours, I will walk into my warehouse, pull my employees aside and pray over our first “real”, uninterrupted, workweek of 2025. We will pray over our families, vendors, clients and support systems. We will thank God for what He has already done, the orders that are ready to ship out and those we have yet to receive. And we will thank Him profusely, in advance, for the classroom that is sure to unfold this new year as both fear and trepidation meet eagerness and enthusiasm in the middle of the hallway. The silhouette of the unknown will sit ready to pounce, as it always does, and we will don the spiritual armor graciously provided by our Lord and Savior understanding the battle is both real and fierce, as opportunities to wash feet crest a new horizon.
Each year, lessons from the folio of business ownership converge with those from the pages of vineyard management, leaving me at the foot of the cross once more with an understanding that my Master will be returning soon. In the interim, my job is to multiply the talents affectionately bestowed upon me and resist the urge of getting too comfortable, making any part of this my home. And while the praying without ceasing and giving thanks in all things can seem like second nature when you begin each week with purpose, what does leave me startled is the number of circumstances I find for rejoicing. As my burdens grow, so does His strength and when my trials are multiplied, His peace comes in droves. Afflictions that leave me short on endurance and exhausted in my intellect, usher in the full range of His resources and His faithful continuation of finishing the “good work” picks up where it once left off. I remain speechless, year after new year, as He yearns to share His infinite riches with me again and generously does so, long before my lips can murmur a single hallelujah, or my soul can count any of it as pure joy.
The year may be new, but His willingness to walk with us by still waters is not. Tally your blessings and understand with me, He has already provided more than enough.
All praise King Jesus, glory to Him in the highest!
