Isaiah 40:31

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Crossing over into a new year is always a blessing! As we reflect on the past year with all its successes, failures, and/or missed opportunities, we recognize that God is awesome in every way! Through Him, we have an opportunity to re-set our lives, re-new our thinking, and re-position our goals and vision to stay in the will of God. It is time to soar!!!!

As I listened to a Watch Night sermon preached by Pastor Phillip Davis of Greater Shiloh Church, Easton PA in December of 2018, I remembered the Pastor providing 10 steps to having a successful 2019 and I realized that there were some areas that we all could benefit from.

The first re-set is to pray with purpose and consistency. I don’t know about you, but sometimes, life and its challenges interfere with my focus and though I know having a prayer life is important the consistency is not always there. With a shift to having even a deeper intimacy with the Lord, this is an area that we all may want to re-new our commitment to. The second re-set is to write down your God-vision. What visions has God given us to pursue? Visions that will empower people to have a closer walk with Him and build up the kingdom of God as we serve with purpose. This may cause us to have to re-position our priorities. The third re-set is to write down your goals for the year for ourselves, our family; and, our future. This requires us to re-new our thinking about being purposeful in seeking God for direction so that we can capture it in written form and have them in front of us so that we do not lose focus. I remember one year we had to write and mail a letter to ourselves which contained the areas in which we wanted God to move in our lives. At the end of the year we opened the letters and could see how God moved in those areas. The fourth re-set is to practice the way of love. Love for God, love for yourself; and, love for people. Jesus is love and 1 John 4:7 – “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

When I reflect back on this message, it reminds me that we can never grow weary in well-doing. That our hope is in God and it will enable us to serve God and His people in the place that we are assigned to. We cannot allow dream-snatchers to prevent us from dreaming big even when those same dreams don’t make sense to us. The year 2020 was a challenging year, but 2021 is going to be a brand new year with new opportunities to re-set, re-new, and re-position ourselves to live our best life in the One who gave it. Thank You Jesus for new beginnings!

Prayer:

Thank You Lord for giving us hope as we cross over soon into the brand New Year of 2021. Thank You for preserving our lives, giving us another chance to do Your will. Thank You for a renewal of our strength to endure whatever may come our way. We anticipate great things as You re-position us to truly commit the work of our hands to serve You and Your people. We love You as we walk in faith in Jesus name. Amen.