MAKING A NEW YEARS RESOLUTION

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God used the prophet Isaiah to encourage the Children of Israel after they lived in exile for many years. The people no longer believed they had a successful future. Negative thinking patterns kept them trapped. The message delivered by the prophet offered a new way forward for the Children of Israel, and it will do the same for you.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” Isaiah 43:18–19

Forget the Former Things

Success always begins with the decision to forget the former things. We cannot move into the future with God if we are still looking in the rearview mirror. You may have tried to step out in faith and your dreams didn’t work out. Maybe your business failed or the ministry didn’t get off the ground. Perhaps you’ve tried to lose weight but have failed many times.

“Former things” have the power to keep us stuck if we’re not careful. God wants us to understand that despite our past failures, He still has a plan for our future. He has given us the Holy Spirit as our counsellor, teacher, and comforter.

“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him... If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.“ Romans 8:9,11

The Holy Spirit is the one who produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives; love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, kindness, and self-control,

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22

We must walk by the Spirit

“I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.“ Galatians 5:16-18

As well, He is the one that provides the gifts of the Spirit for ministry, all nine of them.

“A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial: to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of languages, to another, interpretation of languages.
But one and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as He wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-10

The path to achieving our goals starts with the decision to forget the former things and concentrate on asking God the Father for guidance. Nothing happens without prayer. Jesus made it possible for us to pray to our Heavenly Father. We pray to our Heavenly Father in Jesus’ name and He will ensure the Holy Spirit guides our steps. Note all three persons of the Trinity should be involved in our lives.

Our prayers must be for God’s will to be done in our lives not our will, Then and only then can you do all things through Him who gives you strength.

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 ESV

Perceive What God Is Doing

We must learn how to perceive where God is taking us. You may not see the full manifestation of your purpose right now, but if you are being led by the Holy Spirit He will cause circumstances to spring up, which offer clues to guide you forward. It could be that a door unexpectedly opens. Or perhaps a door closes that you thought would stay open.

It’s not our place to know every detail about the future, but if we are in prayer the Holy Spirit will reveal the next step in the journey. In some cases, God has already given us instructions and is waiting for us to make the next move. You must know that God is actively working in your life. If you stop dwelling on the past you can perceive the Holy Spirit’s next step forward.

Trust That God Will Make a Way

It’s important to trust that God is making a way into the unknown places that we can’t handle on our own. If we have a dream that could happen without any assistance from God, then the dream did not come from God. The prospect of walking into our destiny should feel slightly overwhelming, or perhaps even impossible, without help from above. If we limit our future to what we can handle on our own, we will not step into the deeper things that God is doing.

It’s easy to focus on the unknown variables that make us feel unqualified, but that’s why we are in partnership with God. He will make a way in the wilderness where there is no clear path and provide streams in the wasteland when there are no resources. Don’t give your limitations the power to stop you from moving forward with God’s plans.

Make sure that you have at least one good Holy Spirit empowered mentor preferably more than one. A regular weekly connection at least by phone with two others is valuable. If you are in business, organizations like the International Christian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) are helpful. Their websites are http://www.iccc.net and http://www.transformedworkinglife.net

HOW TO PRAY AS WE ENTER 2021

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Asking God for vision in the new year should be a solemn act. It should also be specific, personal, uncomfortable, and riddled with challenging questions. It should involve more than a half-hour of brainstorming hyper spiritualized resolutions. More than praying for God to help you kick that pesky habit or finally read the Bible from cover to cover. It should probably involve less asking for blessings and more asking to be transformed into his image. Attempts to map out our destinies and polish our illusions of control should be replaced with humble submission to God’s sovereign plan. Less “we will” and more “if the Lord wills” (James 4:13-17). Not only must we ask God for vision, we must ask him how to ask for it.

So this new year, let us ask God to prepare us for the unknown and grant us the grace to accept the unexpected. Let us pray for our hearts’ desires to more closely reflect his own. Let us seek conformity to his likeness, that in circumstances we hoped we would never face and never dreamed we could handle, we would respond in humble obedience. Come what may, we know God is faithful. In 2021, may He give us faith in return.

Ultimately, instead of writing a liturgy which asks, “How can we hack into God’s vision for our future?” perhaps we should ask, “How should we respond when our personal ‘vision’ is shattered by God’s divine interruption?” The biblical figures were blessed with grace-filled opportunities for growth. When our biblical heroes responded with trust and obedience, they experienced God working in and through them in extraordinary ways. When they clung to their shortsighted expectations and entitlements, as in the case of Jonah, they brought unnecessary grief on themselves and those around them. But in the end, God’s will was achieved despite their obstinance.

Let us ask this year for God to prepare us for the unknown and grant us the grace to accept the unexpected. Let us pray for our hearts’ desires to more closely reflect his own. Let us seek conformity to his likeness, that in circumstances we hoped we would never face and never dreamed we could handle, we would respond in humble obedience. Come what may, God is faithful. In 2021, may he give us faith in return.

This excellent article is taken largely from a post by an unknown guest contributor “10 Ways God Might Ruin Your Plans for 2021? on the website http://www.patheos.com