2017 is here.. ! Happy Happy New Year to you. We made it by His grace. Some could not wait for 2016 to end, others were happy and not ready to leave the joy they experienced in 2016. Ready or not, 2017 is here for all of us. Making it into 2017 was not guaranteed, and no matter what feelings the new year invokes, being grateful that we made it is not negotiable. The fact that we made it is hope of things to come.
Looking back on the previous year is always helpful as we venture into the New year. Reflecting on lessons the year taught us, our response to the situations that came our way can be very helpful in preparing ourselves for the new season we come into. Some lessons we bring into the new year, others we leave behind.
My personal reflection on the new year is centered around a theme I ask God to give me for the year. These themes help me stay focused on God throughout the year regardless of the situations or circumstances (good or bad). Themes also give meaning and comfort in particularly difficult moments in the year. FAITHFUL was His word for 2016; Looking back at the last 12 months, I see His faithfulness every step of the way, in each and every moment. Remembering that God is Faithful in 2016 made some tough moments easier to face and go through. He is indeed faithful, even in moments when I was particularly not faithful.
If we are faithless,He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. ~2 Timothy 2:13 NKJV
2017 ‘s theme is in form of a song; I’m desperate for you Lord, I am lost without you. This accurately captures the state of my heart. That sense of feeling desperate for God even when you know He is with you. A desperate hunger, for God has recently consumed me. Interestingly, I am constantly praying that He gives me a Hunger and thirst for Him.
Trying to navigate the depth of my desperation for Him is definitely new territory in this journey of salvation. It is quite interesting but also daunting to imagine what God is going to do with this desperation / zeal for Him this year. It is necessary that He finds me in a posture of total surrender to Him. My surrender entails that He can interrupt my plans as He sees fit. The desperation for Him postures my heart in surrender to Him as I recognize a renewed zeal to seek after Him with assurance that I will find Him.
I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me. ~ Proverbs 8:17 NKJV
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.~ Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV
I’m Desperate for you ~ Micheal W Smith
Take a moment to listen to this old but powerful song of worship.
Wishing you all a Blessed 2017! May Jehovah God pleasantly surprise us.
Happy 2017!