The Almighty is always faithful. He never fails, and if we take a closer look throughout our past, we notice that He has been working in our lives even when it did not seem like it.

It’s been said that God’s care for His children is like the sun: It’s constant. Even though the clouds often obscure it, this does not mean it’s not there. We might not have everything we asked for, and sometimes we are thankful we did not receive the thing we begged for. I remember the song, “Thank God for Unanswered Prayers,” which allows us to realize that God can see the future and always has our best interest in mind whether we want to admit it or not.

Have you considered how many times He protected you from a terrible thing that could have happened?

We are still in January, and this coming year, may you discover the wonders of God’s love and receive the peace and contentment you are searching for. Beyond the resolutions, and hopes that everything will work out, we are going to face some unpleasant situations. This is not heaven, and we are still living under the curse of the fall, which includes the probabilities of pain, sorrow and disappointment.

On the flip side, we have the opportunity to draw as close to God as we desire. This sounds easy, but as we know there is much more to walking the narrow path than warm and fuzzy statements. We enjoy hearing about what Christ has promised, but we do not like the all the things we need to do to make it work. A covenant is not just one sided.

I was raised in church and have been involved in many assemblies. Each week pastors present messages that basically challenge and encourage the listener to incorporate God’s word into hearts and minds that transforms us into being more like Jesus. This is wonderful, but there is always the danger of becoming numb to hearing the same old devotions and losing our passion to continue growing stronger in our spiritual development.

We hear a lot about being lukewarm, but rarely consider that we are susceptible to its deception. It’s simply a lethargic attitude of going through the motions of religious activity while neglecting our daily quiet time of repentance, worship and prayer to God.

I’ve been encouraged the last two weeks with the overwhelming response from readers requesting my scripture narration project. It contains me reading over 100 passages of hope, faith and peace, set to beautiful background music.

A few years ago, I felt inspired to create this resource for those who could find somewhere quiet, close their eyes and relax as they absorb the power of God’s promises into their spirits. Again, this doesn’t seem difficult does it? Really? For those of you who declared a new commitment to Christ and rededicated your life back to God on New Year’s Eve, how’s it going? There is a huge difference between being religious and stepping into the arena of spiritual warfare. This really adds a higher meaning to the saying, “no pain, no gain.”

Yes, our flesh wants a cozy relationship with God, but the closer we are to Him, the more sacrifice and suffering we will endure. This explains why the average religious person remains content to play games where it’s comfortable and safe from conviction and responsibility.

My point is that it’s wonderful to purchase books and videos that challenge us with thoughts about being filled with the Holy Spirit, but if we are not going to do what they say, we are continuing to be controlled by our unrenewed mind that wants to keep everything as it is. We can have a Bible on every table and shelf in our home, but if we are not disciplined about studying it for the purpose of casting down our carnality and demonstrating the character of Christ, what good are they?

If you desire to accept Jesus as your Lord today, no one is preventing you except your fleshly nature. Our carnality wants us to wait and delay our decision to make a life-changing commitment to Christ, but if not today, when?

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become brand new” II Corinthians 5:17. God is waiting for you.

Dr. Holland is a Christian minister, chaplain and author. To learn more about the Christian life visit billyhollandministries.com