Great News! – The year 2011 is gone, and behold, we are entering 2012. It is a New Year and with that I am sure all of us have big wish lists, new plans and new goals formulating in our minds, maybe even etched into our calendars. But, have we stopped to consider what God thinks of our plans? If we aren’t careful and deliberate, our lives might move forward without including God into the equation. Eventually, our relationship with Him could suffer as a result. Let’s start the New Year off right by focusing our hearts on worshiping Him, being close to Him and resting in Him!!
Here are some good questions to ask yourself as you look forward to the New Year: Where are my priorities? Where does God fit into my schedule? How vital is He to me that I spend one-on-one time with Him each day? If the answers to these questions are “not enough” or “not at all”, don’t panic. God loves you and wants to give you a fresh start at the beginning of this year! He wants to forgive you of your past indifferences and/or rebellion and help you start afresh with a clean slate. In Psalm 51:10 (MSG) The Psalmist asked God for a fresh start “God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.” Let this be the same cry of your heart, “God, give me a fresh start and make sense of my chaotic life. Shape it into something beautiful that only YOU, the Creator of the Universe can accomplish.” The Bible says in Philippians 3:13-15, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” The Apostle Paul lived many years of his life in disobedience toward God, but God showed him this was not right. The Apostle Paul eventually let go and forgot his past life and pushed full steam ahead toward God’s purpose and plan – He started over with a clean slate…A Fresh Start in Christ.
You might ask yourself, “How do I start fresh with God? How do I close the distance between my Creator and me? It really is very simple: Come out of hiding. Acknowledge your mistakes to God…He sees them anyways, and turn away from things that don’t please Him. Ask Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins by faith. He paid the price so you could draw near to God, not by works, but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We don’t exist to be worshiped by God, we exist to worship God. God, the source of Love, loves YOU more than what your mind can comprehend! Understand then, His plan for you is better than what you plan for yourself.
Is your New Year plan based off of selfish desires or to become great in the eyes of the world? If it is, then your plan is built on wrong motives and God will not honor it. Humble yourself before God and ask Him for guidance and direction. He exalts the humble and brings down the proud. He will teach you His ways when you seek Him with all your heart. Be still and gaze into His eyes, worship Him in spirit and in truth, be lost in His glory, and be found by His grace…find rest in Him.
Let’s start this New Year by encouraging others, motivating and inspiring them to share the Gospel and use our own testimonies as tools to express God’s love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and grace to people around us. No matter how busy we may be in life, we must be available, we must be positive and we must wear the heart of Christ in order to speak a word of encouragement to those that need it.
We are all created for a purpose! Let the Good Shepherd lead you down the path toward your destiny. If you don’t know your call, PRAY! God will reveal it to you in His timing. You have everything you need right where you are at this moment. Again, seek the face of God! Declare out loud, “I am starting this New Year with a FRESH START and I will receive His forgiveness and grace!” Let God’s love and power spill out of your soul splashing others. We are not to be containers of God’s blessings, but to be spillers of God’s blessings. It blesses God when we bless others!
I hope and pray that you will experience three hundred and sixty-five days of drawing close to God, boldly entering His Presence. Start 2012 faithfully believing in God’s promises and applying them to your life. Remember that it is a New Year…A Fresh Start, new joys, but the SAME God.
By Dani Ryan - Guest Writer
