New Beginnings
The New Year is always a time a reflection. We think about all the things that have passed, the trials and celebrations of the year and we look ahead to what is before us. Sometimes with trepidation or uncertainty and for some of us thankfulness that the year is done and over. Wherever along the scale you find yourself, it’s good to stop and take stock.
My wife and I spend some time each year to pray for the season ahead, seeking God for His direction and a word to stand on. We pray separately and then come back together to share what He has spoken over us. He never fails to speak. Let me encourage you to seek Him for this next season of life as we set off into the new year. There is nothing magical about the changing over from one year to the next, but it does provide a marker, a line in the sand from which to propel into the year ahead. After all, God does know what lies ahead!
I’m not always convinced by the longevity of making a New Years’ resolution, but there is something about casting vision that does ring true. Vision is vital in the pursuit of anything of real worth. Whether you call it goal setting, planning, dreaming or something else, it is so important that we establish vision.
I don’t know about you, but I want to walk in the blessings of God this year. I don’t want to be stumbling over myself because I can’t see what God is doing. But how can we do that?
It holds the key to the trajectory of your life. We often do it in our workplaces; target setting and reviewing where we are right now. We even do it in our volunteer teams at church, but rarely do we seek vision for our marriages, families or even ourselves.
God is interested in your life. He is interested in the fine detail and the big picture. I want to walk in what God has prepared for me and my family. I don’t want to be reactive to circumstances as they arise. The unexpected will come, but I want to be responsive to the need from a place of security, knowing the word that God has spoken over me in this next season. When we work from that place of knowing, rest flows. We know the things to pick up and those things which we need to put down. The Bible says it like this;
“If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.” – Proverbs 29:18 (MSG)
I don’t know about you, but I want to walk in the blessings of God this year. I don’t want to be stumbling over myself because I can’t see what God is doing. But how can we do that? Be encouraged, it is actually rather simple. Stop. Wait. Listen.
I pray that you may be intentional in carving out the time to seek His vision for you in this new year. I can assure you that as you stop, wait and listen for Him, He will speak. We only see in part the picture He is painting. Allow Him to take your hand as He zooms out from your life and reveals the bigger picture to you.
We pray for clarity and purpose in your life this year as you continue to run after all that He has waiting for you.
