Yesterday was my 33rd birthday; thank you so much to everyone who sent birthday wishes! This birthday felt especially meaningful, perhaps because our Lord Jesus was 33 years old when He went to the cross to pay for our sins. Lord, may You be glorified through me this year.

Internally, I still feel like I’m around 23 years old instead of 33. Yet at the same time, so much has happened in the past 10 years that I unquestionably also feel much “older,” although I suspect that “future me” may also find this comical.

Time is a strange thing, isn’t it? Especially when we consider the perspective of God, who created time in the first place. Peter famously said, “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8).

God has been with me every day of the past 33 years of my life; even if I had been born 330 or 3300 years ago, His sovereignty and goodness would remain unchanged. And my hope throughout life is that God is calling me home to be with Him and enjoy Him forever in the life to come. When I’m tempted to think of myself as the main character of “my story,” God’s Word reminds me that He is the main character of history, and He has invited me (and all of us) to play a part in His redemptive story.

I’d like to end by sharing that yesterday I felt God impress this verse on my heart as a key verse for this next year of my life:

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

2 Timothy 1:7

When we find ourselves facing fear, or any of its companions – worry, anxiety, discouragement, doubt – may we cling to the God who is the source of power, love, and self-control. For those of us who have placed our faith in Christ, He is transforming our hearts from the inside out so that day by day we resemble Him more, radiating His light and love to those around us, for His glory. May we fear Him above all else, trusting in His unchanging love, mercy and grace.