HAPPY 2022!
Here we are, just a couple of days into January! Have you kept your resolutions? Did you even declare or write any down? If you didn’t, you are probably in good company.
Nowadays, resolutions are not about keeping promises. The name of the game is being mindful of making lifestyle choices that result in lasting change.
While that may sound good, the word choice denotes option. And when there is option, the pressure to perform and stay on course weighs less heavily.
Options are not promises. When the heat is on and things begin to challenge our new lifestyle choices, we may find it easier to just opt out.
For the believer, opting out doesn’t hold much water, for we know that with choices come outcomes: beneficial results or disastrous consequences.
What is it about the start of a new year that focuses our aim for change? Dare I say it is because we may have realized that we see ourselves stuck in repeated cycles that get us everywhere except to the precise place where we are called to be?
There could be a plethora of reasons why we may feel stuck: shame of past sins, insecurities, fears, unforgiveness, or pride, just to name a few.
I don’t dismiss the fact that some of the “stuckness” we feel may be a direct result of things delivered to us by the hand of another. It could be from a mindset passed down that has been ingrained as truth.
Let Him be your good choice!
Whatever the reason, God knows. He discerns your heart and sees your desire for change. His hand is always stretched out to offer help. Watching His kids on the proverbial hamster wheel doesn’t bring Him joy.
May I submit to you that one way to get your stuck unstuck is by choosing to practice being in His presence. This is done by acknowledging every good thing that is in you in Christ and constantly building yourselves upon your most holy faith, praying in the Spirit. For me, this is the first step to successful change. Praying in the spirit is empowering.
Live 2022 empowered!
When you choose to engage, your faith becomes a powerhouse, and you will see progressive and effortless change happen in your life (read Philemon 1:6 and Jude 1:20 TPT). Hallelujah!
He is ready to participate in this venture with you because he loves and cares for you. The only stuck you really should acknowledge is that you are stuck with His love for you!
I am praying for you today. Whatever choice that you need to make, no matter how difficult it may be for you, I’m praying that 2022 will be the starting year that becoming unstuck is your reality. I pray you:
- choose to stay in His Presence where there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).
- be filled with His Spirit to overflowing excess (Ephesians 5:18).
- fully know the measure of His love and nature (Ephesians 3:18).
- meditate on His thoughts about you and not your own perceptions (Jeremiah 29:11).
- always give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:18), assured that He is always for you (Romans 8:31).
- let Him be your providence and healer (Psalm 145:16, Exodus 15:26).
- choose to seek Him and stay in His Word just as a deer pants for water (Psalm 42:1).
Praise Him, thank Him, and edify others!
He will make a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Perceive and choose to hold onto His promises this year (Isaiah 43:19)! Praise Him for His presence and thank Him for the truth of His Word.
We are never alone. We are empowered by grace to remain steadfast in the good choices we make. Never grow weary, and don’t let your neighbor grow weary either. Be mindful this year to edify and exhort others. We all deal with things differently. If there is ever a time to be about our brother’s business, it is now.
The devil is out to rob us of our faith, hope, and positivity. If we opt out, he wins. Let’s choose to not let that happen.
God richly and abundantly bless your 2022!