The sun is setting on another year. It has gone by incredibly fast!
I always love this time of year, though. It is a time to ponder all of the amazing blessings over the last year and maybe some lessons I have learned along the way. It's also a time of dreaming. New things are on the horizon. Great things! Our perspective is all that matters.
I find myself thinking about a couple of verses of Scripture during this time of the year.
See, I am doing a NEW thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. -Isaiah 43:19
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creature; the old things passed away; behold the new things have come. -2 Corinthians 5:17
New. A clean slate. A fresh start.
What will define you? Our history and the lineage of our family have helped to shape who we are there is no doubt. But will I allow the mistakes of my past or the misfortunes that have happened to me over my life be the defining element of who I am? Maybe negative words or outcomes have been spoken over you in the last year. You don't have to look far to hear a negative report on the state of our world and how that might affect you in the upcoming year. Maybe those negative reports have come from your own mouth as you speak over yourself.
There is another choice. We can let NEW define us. We can be defined by the promises of God. We can be defined by the grace of God that covers all of our sin and shortcomings. In Christ, there are no impossibilities. We are marked by His goodness.
I challenge you to call to mind the goodness of God. Begin with gratitude of what He has accomplished in 2021 despite all of the evil schemes playing out around us. Then take a hold of the promises of God. Go to His Word and craft declarations centered around what God says is to be true of your life. You can start with the verses mentioned above.
A new song for a new day rises up in me every time I think about how he breaks through for me! Ecstatic praise pours out of my mouth until everyone hears how God has set me free. Many will see his miracles; they’ll stand in awe of God and fall in love with him!
-Psalm 40:3 (TPT)
What we declare with our mouth is so important and it becomes the crossroads that determines what our reality will be.
Even King David himself speaks to us regarding the complete wholeness that comes inside a person when God’s powerful declaration of righteousness is heard over our life. Apart from our works, God’s work is enough. -Romans 4:6 (TPT)
What will 2022 hold for you? It is your choice. But I say, out with the old and in with the new. Let's let hope and promise mark our lives like never before. After all, we serve a God who is about making all things new.
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
-2 Corinthians 7:1 (NIV)
If you are looking for some encouragement and accountability in seeing the promises of God come to fruition in your life, please reach out in the comments below. I would be more than happy to support you on your journey to see the newness of God released in your life.
May 2022 be a year where all things become new!
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