Each new year I ask God for scripture to claim as my promise for the upcoming year. This year, I am declaring Leviticus 26: 9 & 10 over my life for 2019. Although this chapter starts with a warning, verses 3-13 outlines the blessings God has in store for those who walk in obedience. These verses are filled with wonderful, precious promisesh I listed below, but I want to focus specifically on verses 9 & 10. Here is the short list of some of the blessings mentioned in these verses

• You will have rain in due season;
• The land will yield increase;
• There would be no idle time between harvest and vintage as they were accustomed to which would result in great increase;
• You will be blessed with peace;
• Not only will no one hurt you, but none will make you afraid;
• Your enemies shall fall before you;
• God will dwell with you, you will have his presence;
• You will no longer be slaves, but have freedom and liberty

Let’s look at verses 9 & 10:

For I will be leaning toward you with favor and regard for you, rendering you fruitful, multiplying you and establishing and ratifying My covenant with you.

And you shall eat the abundant old store of produce long kept, and clear out the old to make room for the new.

I meditate on these two verses with both a grateful heart and an expectant heart. Grateful that God is blessing this upcoming year with favor and regard for me. Gods ‘regard’ is an assurance that He is paying attention to me. On many occasions, we wonder if God sees what is happening to us, especially during our times of unraveling. but this verse gives us the assurance and promise we need to be confident he has regard for us. Regard also means a protective interest. As you learned from my book, When Life UNravels, protection is a blessing even when it seems the opposite is taking place. God protects us from things we are not even aware of and things we didn’t even know we needed protection from.

My gratitude continues knowing God confirms the blood covenant I have with him because of the death and resurrection of Christ. I am in a covenant relationship with the almighty God. Think about that! Nothing will change it. It is a binding agreement that God made gave out of his never ending love for us. Covenant does not seem to be a priority among many people today, but God is not like us. His covenant is secure, steadfast and firm. He will never forsake us.

Verse 10 is where I become excited and filled with expectation as God promises abundance by promising me the ‘new’. Yes, God is doing a new thing as each day his mercies are new and I can expect good from the hand of God. I expect ‘new ‘ in the new year, I expect things beyond what I could imagine or think. What new are you expecting? Is there something new you are believing God to do for you? Be expecting God to answer your prayer as you walk in his obedience. God promises abundance in these verses but not only abundance but contentment. That is extremely important. Contentment leaves you satisfied and fills you with the peace of God.

As this year comes to a close, ask God to give you a verse to meditate on that speaks to your heart with a promise for the upcoming year. Or meditate on these verses in Leviticus. God will speak great truth concerning your life as you meditate on His word. Just keep in mind, blessings come with obedience. Make the new year a year of obedience to Him and watch what he will do. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing in your blessings. Happy New Year.