Perhaps like me, you are asking, “How in the world did it get to be 2013?” Growing up in a home where my parents believed we were living in the last days back in the 1960’s, I surely thought that Jesus would have come by now. Actually, I thought He would come before I graduated from High School, or got married, or had children. And what about those years in between then and now? Are they not much like a vapor, as if they simply passed through my hands?

Regardless of how we look back on years gone by, either with joy or regret, it is more beneficial to look forward to that year which we are soon to embark upon ~ 2013. The Apostle Paul said, “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3: 13-14). This new year comes with great upward opportunity to do many things. Do we not all love new beginnings? I know that I do. I love to let the past be the past, wipe the slate clean, and get a fresh start. That is what 2013 holds for us, if we will see it through those lenses. Maybe then, we can look forward to this new year with great anticipation.

The thing I look forward to most is new revelations from God, His Word, and His ways. I am awed at what I now see that only 12 months ago, I did not see. You may ask, “How does that happen?” It happens a little at a time. To describe it as the Bible does, it comes “Precept must be upon precept….line upon line….here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). You see, we cannot withstand ALL of the revelation of God at once. He told Moses, “You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me, and live” (Exodus 33:20). WOW! We should be grateful that God gives revelation only as we are able to accept and absorb it.

We are to be ever-seeking, ever-increasing in the knowledge of God. That is His plan for us, to slowly but surely allow His Spirit to bring the light of God into our very beings. We must have light to live. We must have light to grow. We must have light to mature. Light literally “dawns upon us” gradually as we seek the face of God. I’d like to think I could have a Damascus Road experience, but it hasn’t ever worked that way for me. It comes as I ask for it and as God chooses to grant it. He, being all-wise, knows what I am ready for and what I can receive. I must be grateful for whatever He chooses to give.

With any new revelation also comes the taunting sin of pride. Don’t you hate it? About the time pride tries to enter my heart over a fresh revelation, I am reminded of the clear fact that there are still vast unknown truths and mysteries of God yet unrevealed to me. I must remember that humility is the key to more revelation, and to that I bow my head and humbly say, “Thank you” to the Gracious One who gives opening of the eyes, here a little and there a little.

May 2013 be a year of revealed truths in our lives. Let us ask the Father to open our eyes to see them; ask Jesus to enlarge our hearts to accept and receive them; and ask our Holy House Guest to make us consciously aware of them when they come our way. If we do those things, 2013 will be a year of great revelation! Are you ready to press even more for the prize of the upward call of God? I know that I am, and I will be writing about those very things in the coming year. I hope you will join me on this 2013 journey, and invite a friend to join us as well. Happy New Year to all! ~ Janie Kellogg