We are already two days into the new year and if you are like me, it will take a couple of months before I stop saying, typing, or writing 2024 on my paperwork. It is easy for us to cling to 2024 even if some of us have experienced much pain. We tend to hang on to the hurt, failures, betrayals, setbacks, guilt, shame, losses, and grief because these moments have become familiar. We have dealt with the pain for so long, so holding on to the past year(s) seems easier especially when we don’t know what this new year will bring. Although holding on to hurt can be considered a normal human response to pain; however, I have realized that it isn’t the best response. It won’t lead us anywhere; if anything, it will keep us in a cycle where we constantly relive the painful moments that will keep us from healing. I have discovered that a better approach would be to take some time to look back or to reflect on the past year(s) not to cling to hurt or to beat ourselves up over the things that didn’t go the way we expected but to recognize our areas of strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, you want to find things you should keep doing, and things you need to improve on. This also applies to the people you must let go of and the ones you need to be a little more compassionate towards because sometimes, pain and heartaches can cause us to go blind to the ones that God has placed around us as our support. Hence, a moment of reflection will often lead you to new resolutions or different approaches in life.
Many of us want to take different approaches in our lives this year, and I would like to encourage you to start it off on your knees. There is power in dedicating your year to God through prayer and fasting. Just like the Bible talks about offering your first fruit to the Lord, you can dedicate your whole year to God by offering to Him your first hour, your first day, your first week, and/or month. At this point you are not even in charge of the year anymore, God is. That doesn’t mean the whole year will be stress-free, but it means that when the heat comes, you can rest assured that you will not even smell like flame because God will cover you through it all. This type of dedication doesn’t have to be super spiritual. There were countless times when I found myself in predicaments that I had no business being in, when my back was against the wall, or when I was right in front of the Red Sea, a life-or-death situation. And I would call on the name of the Lord not even sure if the words coming out of my mouth made sense because truth be told sometimes when you are in a scary situation, you cannot even put two words together. But God can understand you perfectly and can even hear a silent cry.
An example we have in the Bible is Samson. Despite everything Samson did, he even went against God’s will for his life, he put himself in dangerous situations several times; so, who would have thought that God would hear him and answer his prayer? Therefore, you can call on the name of the Lord right where you are, even while you are on the ground and Jesus will show up because it is all about the sincerity of the heart, recognizing that without Him, there is no year, no deliverance, and no you; God will not refuse such a heart posture. And if God doesn’t show up right away, please, I encourage you to wait on Him and keep knocking. We often think that just because God doesn’t show up or things don’t change rapidly, it is a sign that He has abandoned us or doesn’t care about us when this is never the case.
I remember experiencing a similar moment in my life where all my years seemed so mundane for over a decade, nothing was changing. I prayed and fasted, and I had reached a point where I didn’t even want to hear people wishing me a happy new year because I already knew how things would be: same torture, same rejections, same setbacks, and same everything. But what I didn’t realize I was doing mentally is that I kept transferring the past year into the new year even before the new year started. It’s like saying that I’ve already set things in motion. However, what I love about the power of God is that His mighty hand knows no limit, and when it’s time for Him to come through for you, nothing can prevent Him. So, when God came through for me and I looked back on those years; I realized that each year was connected to the next to lead me to where I am now, though I have not yet arrived. As mundane, painful, and insignificant as those years seemed, they were all orchestrated as the road to better. I don’t know how God did it, I cannot comprehend it, so I will not even try to explain it to you, but I will say that God is God so you can trust Him with your years.
So after you reflect on last year and consider your new approaches, you need to implement them. This is usually the scariest part, but it is the part where you show yourself some grace and allow the Spirit of God to flow through you. Just like you started the new year on your knees, you need to remain in prayer every step of the way to finish the year with the One you started it with. God knows that we are humans, He knows we get weary at times and overwhelmed in life. However, just like you can’t chop down a big tree from the top nor can you chop it down with just one strike alone, you must allow the Spirit of the Lord to help you start from the root with consistent baby steps that align with the plan. You must focus on what the Holy Spirit is guiding you to do in the present because He will surely guide you and teach you how to defeat your giants.
My prayer for you is that you will be so in tune with the Holy Spirit this year that you will receive the strength to let go of the past year(s) and receive the boldness to go on new adventures with Him by making new changes and achieving the assignments He has already planned for you.
“For I know the plans I have for you.” Declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Happy New Year 2025 in Jesus’ Name!
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