Today is the last day of this year. This day and time will never come again and this applies to each day I am graciously given. As such I find it important to live each day intentionally and on purpose. Am I always successful? Not really but instead of living in a condemned place, I choose to remember and activate the Word which declares to me that His mercies are new every morning.
(Lamentations 3:21-25) For this I am grateful.
As I prepare not only to go into a new day but a new year I am excited about what it holds. In my spirit I sense the unfolding of great things for many people including myself. Though tempted to be overwhelmed with the questions of "How? Why? and every impatient person's favorite "When?" I find myself experiencing a great peace because even thought I don't know the answers, I know the God who holds them. I have nothing to fear and no reason to doubt. This year I am excited to see great victory in the Kingdom of God.
In 2011 I have wrestled with identity and my value. In the post
Fighting the Fear of Failure, I discussed this in detail. I have many times cowered down and not moved forward with simple actions because I have felt so unworthy. I've not met my own minimum standards, how could I hope to achieve or assist in the great things I have seen in my dreams and visions? But I'll tell you, I'm extremely tired of asking that question and seeing the fruitless results! Just because I am not able to fit into a mold that I "think" I should to be able go on to the next level does not mean I have to. What does this mean?
I have come to the conclusion, finally, that all the things that I thought mattered actually do not. One of the currencies of the Kingdom of God is faith. I have faith and it speaks a completely different message than that of my personal standards based on the world's systems. One of the reasons I love the Bible so much is because it recounts the lives of ordinary men and women who through their love for God did extraordinary exploits. They lived adventures of a lifetime because they walked in faith. Everything that their societies told them was they way and standard was often not the way they chose to walk because with God, life is very different. (Hebrews 11)
I am just as they were, there is no reason that I cannot be an instrument and vessel. I am done with excuses. The ones I have put forth have often been there because I did not want to grow out of my comfort zone. Too bad for me. This year I am leaving the comfort zone behind and making the decision to grow. I have an amazing set of gifts that I am not fully aware of because I have spent so long hiding from them. Once you become aware of something, you are accountable based on what you know. If I don't know what all my gifts are then I don't have to be accountable to them, right? This is a terrible line of thinking that places great limits on myself and on God's power to work through me. In doing so I could be holding back someone else's blessing. How terribly selfish of me. No more!
The possibilities before me this year are great in every area of life. In my relationship with the Lord, I expect to come to know Him more intimately than I have in the previous 18 years of our relationship. I know that I will see manifest through me not just the Matthew 28:18-20 Great Commission that I have spiritually "grown up" with but that the Mark 16:15-20 promise of signs and miracles as well. At work there have been some changes and I have the opportunity to do great work and implement new ideas. I believe that by choosing to see this as a divine set up and making the decision to grow that I will see a side of me that I have never known in my professional life. This will bring blessing to others who will be affected by the decisions I make. In relationships I will continue to cultivate great friendships and also seek out a mentor. I firmly believe this is a key to a victorious and successful life. I am accepting the call to leadership. I am choosing obedience here. This is one of those situations where the "How?" question screams at me but again, I choose to place trust in the One who called me not in myself.
There are many more things that are before me but I have written this not only for myself but for those of you who may read this. This is not just for the new year, this is for everyday. In the Lord we are blessed to have the opportunity to start anew everyday. So no matter when this is read I hope it inspires you to think of the possibilities that are before you. How could your obedience bless someone else? How could your trip out of the "comfort zone" inspire someone else or give strength to them. No matter who you are or what you think of yourself, there is someone near you that you can influence. I pray that 2012 is a year of great decisions that lead to extraordinary actions that have the possibility of affecting future generations for the better. I bless you in the name of the Father of heaven and Earth!
