Mrs Laura Faulk
Pastor's Wife
First Baptist Church
Groton, MA
Always Wear Your Crown
The annual change of the calendar often calls for reflection and preparation of our hearts for the coming year.
Personally I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions because I know that I’m not very good at keeping them! I also don’t usually choose a verse for the year but recently the Lord has really impressed upon me Psalm 65:11 – “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.” Particularly I am concentrating on the first part of the verse “Thou crownest the year with goodness.”
God says that He crownest the year with thy goodness; this literally means “a year remarkable for the manifestation of kindness; or a year of abundant productions.”
God enthusiastically crowns or adorns our year with His goodness. We are confirmed of this in Ps. 84:11, “the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
A crown by definition is a decorative object that is shaped like a circle and worn on the head of a king or queen for special ceremonies; something that imparts splendor, honor, or finish.
Just think of a beautiful queen or princess walking forward with a diadem on her brow. When a queen or princess wears her crown, you know she is royalty – she is special! There is a certain “air” about her and the things around her. She is proud to wear that crown, she is honored, and not afraid to show the world who she is!
Have you ever seen a queen or princess, while wearing her crown, acting like “woe is me”, or “I’m just so stressed” or “My world has just crumbled” or “My problems are the WORST in the world”, or how about “Nobody understands what I go through”? Even during times of distress a queen/princess holds her head high.
I’m sure that every one of us could justifiably act like and relate to these people I just mentioned but is that really the way someone acts who has their year crowned with God’s goodness?
Are we consciously looking for and seeing all the goodness that God has bestowed on us each and every day?
Yes, perhaps you do have reason to mope, cry, scream, hang your head BUT Ladies God has crowned your year with goodness!!!!! There’s so much in our world as Christians to be thankful for and so many reasons to hold our heads up high and proclaim to the world and other Christiansthat we are royalty! I believe we would get a lot more done for the Lord if we remember that we are wearing a crown of royalty which flashes and glitters all of God’s goodness to those around us!
In every situation and season of life, you can and should expect to proclaim the goodness of our God everywhere you go and to everyone you see. In Ps. 27:13 David says, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” During David’s time of trial he HAD confidence in God, and BELIEVED that He would uphold him. He believed he would always see the evidence of God’s goodness and mercy while on the earth.
David responds with jubilant praise in Psalm 103, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things;
It would be good for us to read over these verses of blessings that David is mentioning from time to time!
As you read this I hope you are imagining your crown on your head! While you’re adjusting and securing your crown, let me remind you of a few things that the Lord has crowned you with:
C - He Called us into His Work – Ladies God has called you into the greatest business in the whole world.
Rom. 10: 15, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Ladies if God has called your husband to the ministry then he has called you also! There’s no getting around it! What an honor to bring glad tidings of good things! What an honor to be doing the work that God has created you for! What an honor to be doing the work that God himself would love to be doing here on earth!
Rom. 11:29 states “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” That means that God does not change His mind – He has called you into His ministry and He will never regret or renege on that calling! You are a daughter of the King and you are a Pastor’s/Preacher/s wife – there could be no higher calling for you than that! Now wear your crown like you believe it!
R - He Remembers our sins no more! Is there anything more wonderful than knowing that God in His infinite mercy remembers our sins no more once we confess them? We don’t have to feel guilty or carry that weight of sin because God has already paid for that sin or sins! It’s done, its finish, and it’s over! Hallelujah! “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. What a wonderful burden has been lifted from us! When God thinks of us, He sees no unrighteouness, he doesn’t see the ugliness of sin in our lives. Now that’s a lot of glitter to add to our crowns!
O - He Opens His arms wide for us to receive Him. What greater joy or blessing could we ever receive from our Lord than eternal life! God waits for us to rush into His open arms of forgiveness and accept what He has done for us so that we could live eternally with Him in Heaven one day! I John 5:13, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Just think of the impact we could make if our crown flashed the joy of our salvation everywhere we went and to everyone we talk to!
W -He Wipes away all our tears! Rev. 21:4 says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Do you see and hear the hope, relief, joy, excitement in this verse? Can you even imagine walking on streets of gold with no pain, no sorrow in life, never crying again, never having to say good-bye to a loved one? One day this will be our life, our blessing, our bounty from the Lord. How can we ever read this verse and not know God’s goodness to us? How can we hear the hope & joy in this verse and not rejoice in His goodness to us? How can we read this verse and not shout for joy!
Do you live as though you have the King of Kings as your constant companion?
Are you really conscious that the Lord is with you through every moment of every day?
Do you believe with your whole heart that He will never leave you?
Let’s remember that God is with us day and night, in the valleys and on top of the mountain , when we’re happy and we’re sad, when we’re going through a deep trial and when we can’t sing “I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy” enough! Let’s wear our crowns knowing that He will never and leave us or forsake us!
None of these points are new to any of us but we need to not just knowabout these blessings God has bestowed on us, but to really KNOW them in our hearts!
God has designed great things for you in 2015. Believe and receive His bounty in faith. Remember “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness. . . “
I hope this verse brings as much cheer to your heart as it has to mine? I pray that, along with me, you will make this year a year that you will constantly see and look for the abundance of blessings in your spiritual life, your church life, your home life, your school life, and your work life.
Ladies Always Wear Your Crown!!!!
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