Psalm 65:11(NLT)
11 You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
Proverbs 16:3 (TPT)
3 Before you do anything, put your trust totally in God and not in yourself.[a] Then every plan you make will succeed.
Psalm 90:17 (NLT)
17 And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!
As we embark upon a New Year, my prayer is that you will take some time to be still just for a bit, and listen for God’s voice of guidance and direction for this New Year.
There are three things that are essential for your success in the coming year, and they are to reflect, to renew and to respond.Reflection is important because it compels our hearts to be grateful for all that God has already done in the past. It helps us to remember that we are still blessed no matter what struggles we have encountered in the past year. If you are still standing, and in your right mind you are truly blessed.
I would like to encourage you to write down some of the life lessons you were presented with this past year. Whether your experiences were good or not so good, I am sure that you will see that God tucked a sweet little gift labeled, “Life Lesson” inside each experience. This is important because only when you learn the lesson will you move to the next level in your life. Learning the lesson also helps you not have to repeat the course over and over.
List the lessons that you feel were the most profound to you this past year. Years from now you will be able to revisit your journal and it will bring to mind the lessons that came with each trial, which ultimately became your blessings.
The ability to reflect and to remember is a great gift that God has given us. As we reflect and remember His goodness, His mercy and His love towards us we become overwhelmed with gratitude. This gratitude is our hearts way of saying thank you.
Another important reason to reflect is that it helps us to examine what areas we need to improve in.
Once we have had time to reflect we must make a decision to Renew. The renewal time is a time to renew our commitments to live a better life. It is a time to set some new personal goals and to resolve to live and navigate through life in a better way. Our commitment should first honor God and secondly honor the legacy that we have been created to leave to those who are to follow in our footsteps as well as those that are in our circle of influence.
One of the most wonderful things that God did when He created us, is that He gave us the ability to dream. Dreaming gives us a hope of something better. It helps us to stay excited about life and to have something to look forward to. Pray and ask God to reveal His will for you in 2018, also pray for Him to guide your decisions, your plans and your steps in the New Year. Be willing and prepared, however, to relinquish your plans for His plans if, at some point, He reveals to you that your plans are not within His holy and perfect will. He may very well desire to point you in a different direction with a new assignment. Stay open and surrendered to His will for your life. His plan will always without a doubt be the better plan.
To prepare and position yourself to hear His voice renew yourself daily by studying His word and remaining prayerful.
Now that you have your plans in place and you have prayed and asked God for His blessings it’s time for you to Respond to what you feel God is instructing you to do with your life in 2018. As you prepare to respond remember to be successful you must remain connected to your power source.
No matter the size of your goal or dream it is God that will give you the strength, wisdom and the power to fulfill the mission. Trust in His strength, and power and not your own. Most importantly seek wisdom and guidance from Him daily.
Respond to His directions and you will have great success. Work diligently, have faith and do not doubt the path that He has placed you on. Stay true to what you know that He has brought you to.
When we respond we start to birth the dream. Don’t hesitate to move forward. God will provide all that you need, and He will open the doors that need to be opened. He will also give you the faith and the courage to walk through every door that opens for you this year.
While you are pursuing your dreams don’t miss the divine opportunities along the way. Remember you are on a mission field. Be prepared because God will place people in your path for you to encourage, and to share the gospel with on your journey to fulfilling your dreams. Be alert to His promptings at all times. Ask Him to reveal to you the very words you should speak and when to speak them and who to speak them to.
Be Prepared to Respond.
As you Reflect, Renew and Respond continue to be prayerful that God’s voice is the voice that guides you each step of the way in this New Year and in the Years to come.
Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)
9 We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Romans 15:13 (NLT)
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
REFLEX/REMEMBER
Proverbs 10:7 (NLT)
7 We have happy memories of the godly, but the name of a wicked person rots away.
Deuteronomy 7:17-18(NLT)
17 Perhaps you will think to yourselves, ‘How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?’ 18 But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 8:18 (NLT)
18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you the power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.
Deuteronomy 5:15 (NLT)
15 Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and powerful arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day.
1 Chronicles 16:12 (NLT)
12 Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
RENEW
Romans 12:2(NLT)
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 15:13 (NLT)
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
RESPOND
Genesis 12:1-4 (NLT)
12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
Matthew 4:19-20 (NLT)
19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
Matthew 9:9 (NLT)
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.
Be Blessed and a Happy New Year!
