Continue in Him

Happy New Year! Coming a little late? I agree! January 2013 is pretty much well on its way isn’t it?  Beyond the crescendo of the festivities from the eve and into the New Year, we are for the most part, back to business as usual. I don’t know about you sis but for me, business as usual has really been business unusual as I have found myself dealing with an unprecedented activity level, somewhat rather frenzied for the first month of a New Year. My husband and I shared a memory a couple of days back, about how there was a time when between November and February, it was a struggle to find business to engage in. We would usually have to shut down our company by the second week in December and stay closed till second week in January because there simply wasn’t anything to do. Right now, it’s a struggle to find time to just ‘be’. There is always that one new project, new responsibility or new opportunity to see the company through.  I am not complaining though; assuredly not! Ah, yes! There is surely a blessing due to God for the busyness of our days, for the privilege of our assignments and purpose; and for His enablement and empowerment to help us carry through.  

Busy or not, I don’t doubt the commonality which you and I have shared coming in from the end of 2012 and into this period. Year ends and beginnings always come with reflections and deep introspection. It’s a risky time at that; a time when wittingly or otherwise, our psychological, emotional and spiritual frames could set the tone for the rest of the year ahead. In this introspective space and if we are not careful, we could become consumed with what we didn’t achieve or receive in the course of the prior year; becoming clouded by targets we set and failed to meet; and sometimes making rather frantic decisions or taking harried actions that really have no intrinsic value in the scheme of things. This is also a time when our prayers carry the utmost air of desperation, lol. Have you noticed how that during this season there are more prayers reminding God that He is the God of ‘by this time tomorrow’; the ‘God of purpose’; the “God who calls things that be not as though they were’; etc?  

Sis, as we move forward into 2013 lets remind ourselves that God is all of these and more, every single day and all the year through. Have you noticed how in this same reflection mode, and if we are not looking through the right frame, we could very easily lose sight of the very many laudable things that we did achieve – as unplanned and unintentional as they might have been? Time and again we are careless enough to lose sight of the immeasurable blessings, grace and favor that we experienced during the year, and which are of infinitely more value to ourselves and to those around us, probably because they were not dressed as the blessings we otherwise expected. Hmmm!

As my 2012 wound to a close, I truly needed the break the holidays afforded me. No doubt you did too. However, rather than lose myself in another frenzy of outings and social events, I chose to turn down the dial in those few days ….disconnecting physically and mentally, and in a very determined way. The level of stress I had allowed in prior to this was not acceptable, and I knew the choice was up to me to deal with this as I moved into 2013. In this frame, I demanded a quiet within me and demanded a purposefulness to my reflections. I thought about my early commitment to be intentional in every area of my life in 2012. I tried to assess how much I had lived by this commitment as the days had rolled into weeks and months. My score was far from perfect; at least, not in the things I resolved to intentionally see through to the end. So no, among other things, I didn’t complete any one of the books I was writing last year; I didn’t lose the 15kg I intended to; and no, I didn’t get to start my doctorate, yada yada yada.

But here is the thing sis…..I’m not beating myself over the head. Nope! Strangely enough….. or perhaps not so much so, I have come into 2013 at incredible peace with myself, within myself, with my life, and more importantly, with my Lord. This is what I want to share with you in this New Year. Yes sis, somewhere inside of me I found the strength to focus intentionally on the other things I started; not the oh-so-lofty resolutions I made originally; but the things which I hadn’t planned on but which once started, I saw through to the end by the empowerment, grace and mercies of God. I refuse to be sidetracked by what should otherwise have been great disappointments regarding my failed intentions/resolutions. I rather choose very deliberately to see my life through the lens of He Who is in me and this is my encouragement to you.

We serve a God for Whom even the greatest of all our resolutions is but the easiest of things for Him to do. We serve a God Who is not limited to the 12month cycles of our human calendar year. He is way bigger than that! He is eternity past present and future! He is time itself! You can choose today to see yourself and your life through the lens of He Who is in charge of your times and seasons; He Who called you forth for His express purpose, and Who will surely bring it to pass in your life. Sis, God’s ability to ‘do’ for you and I is not constrained by time. Our 12months are less than a speck in the frame of eternity. It strikes me that when God speaks and sets timing to the performance of His Word, it never fails. As I reflect on my testimonies in 2012, I can recall clearly an instance where God spoke to me and said to me in one case ’21 days’ and He did just that. I also remember where He simply assured me that He would come through for me in due time, and a five-month objective came through in just five weeks. But I also recall clearly things I have trusted Him for within some period, and which He didn’t bring to pass till well after, at His own time - the best part being that even I could clearly see that it still through came at the right time. Can you relate?

Sis, I believe that in 2013 the question for you and I will be whether we are listening out for and hearing clearly from God, or whether we are forging ahead in our own strength, hoping against hope that God will work according to our own promptings. My prayer for you and I in this year is that we will seek Him more; listen more; and be guided more than anything else by the voice of the Holy Spirit that is within us. There is overwhelming peace in this place, sis.  Don’t lose hope about those things you had set your heart to but didn’t see come to pass in 2012. Continue to believe! Continue to trust! Hope against all hope and you will see God manifest His perfect purpose for you at His perfect time. His word tells us that the plans of man’s heart are many, but it is the purpose of the Lord that shall stand. His purpose is not determined by our timing. We must believe that He knows the end from the beginning, and the end is good for those of us who know, believe and trust in Him; for those of us who will yield totally to be led of Him. 

Continue in Him sis! Seek clarity about His purpose, and continue in the place of trust and faith in His ability to bring His purpose for your life to pass in due season. Trust me when I say that His season is more glorious than your intended season could ever have been. Have a wonderful 2013 sis! I can’t wait to share the testimonies that will abound as you go forward in His peace.

Be blessed….. for you surely are!