Since October, I’ve had a heart fixed on the stars. I sat under a cold Minnesota sky with writer friends all around and watched stars sparkle while a fire danced and crackled in front of me. Since childhood, the stars and the night sky have been my thing – my time with the Lord, my time to dream and be quiet and fascinated, my time to have the lists and tasks of the day completed, my time to just be.

So going into this year, I began to think about using this theme of the stars as a focus for 2018. But I wanted a word. I wanted something a little more specific. One of my favorite authors must be really fixated on the stars, too. I love two specific lines from her characters:

“You could rattle the stars,” she whispered. “You could do anything, if only you dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That’s what scares you most.” Sarah J. Maas

“To the people who look at the stars and wish, Rhys.”
Rhys clinked his glass against mine. “To the stars who listen— and the dreams that are answered.” Sarah J. Maas

The first quote reminds me of faith as small as a mustard seed that can move mountains. Too often my fear and insecurity can get in the way of following the journey God has placed in front of me. The second quote reminds me that I am not alone in my dreaming and wishing, that these dreams exist for a reason. They are mine to chase, pursue, and diligently work for.

Then I looked at scripture and moments when God used the stars as an analogy. Enter Abraham.

And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”  And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:5-6

All of these quotes make me dream and want to trust God with that dream in a new way. Abraham believed God in expectation not of something that had happened or was happening, but he had hope and expectation anchored in what God said would happen. He believed. He trusted. He messed up. He walked forward. And God blessed.

I want to be like Abraham who trusted God in expectation.

I don’t know what that will look like this year. I don’t know what God will do. But I do know new books are coming this year, new things are on the horizon, and a whole host of possibilities are ahead. It won’t be easy, and the Lord’s plans are not always mine. But I do know one thing. It will be worth it.

This year more than ever, I am focused on expecting God to be exactly who He says He is: a good Father who is out for my good, the good of those around me, and ultimately His glory. Therefore, I can expect that whatever comes is good.

It’s time for me to walk faithfully in that expectation, with my eyes set on the stars – the mark of His faithfulness.