My New Year 2020 Thought
Wow! It’s gone. I mean 2019 has come to a close. Not just the year but it’s also the end of a decade. The year 2019 is now just a memory in the rear view of our minds. With the passing of 2019, we have everything to be happy or sad about it’s passing.
Solomon wrote a powerful piece which we have come to know as, Ecclesiastes. Specifically in chapter three, we read about the most widely quoted scripture,
A Time for Everything
Everything has its own time, and there is a specific time for every activity under heaven
Ecclesiastes 3: 1
Right now it is the time and season of the new year 2020 and let me hasten to add it’s the start of a new decade too! But before 2020 came you lived the full time and season of the year 2019. I bet you celebrated the coming in of 2019 in the same way you are celebrating the new year of 2020. What are you carrying over from 2019? What are you leaving behind?
Every year-end allows us to analyse our life in the past year. You get to examine your life critically. You ask yourself, “What mindset am I carrying over into 2020?”
If I were you, I would seriously be pondering the matter of my life’s purpose. Are you living the life God meant for you to live, on this earth? God’s will for your life is to live life from glory to glory.
It’s all packaged in your life’s purpose. When you live life according to His purpose for your life, it will be life lived in greatness. Not a life of whining and complaining. No! That’s not your portion.
If you are tired of the way your life has turned out for you in the past year, now you have a wonderful opportunity to turn it around. Remember that only you can do it. Only you and God. There’s a time for everything. Yes, but that time is about you reconnecting your life to your creator. Begin to live your life purpose in 2020.
“It’s not where you’re from; it’s where you’re going. It’s not what you drive; it’s what drives you. It’s not what’s on you; it’s what’s in you. It’s not what you think; it’s what you know.”
Gatorade commercial
So, continuing with the thought of reconnecting your life back to God. The beginning of the year is an opportune time for repentance. Before you scream, “me repentance”? Let me explain in plain language that it’s not just about turning away from some big sin. Repentance according to my small dictionary app is, “feeling remorse about your past”. Therefore in this case you are merely being encouraged to change your thinking. To renew your mind.
A story is recorded in the Bible of a young man who was honorable in the sight of God but who was not pleased with the way his life had turned out. Here it is:
Jabez was a man who got his name because of the pain he caused his mother during birth. But he was still the most respected son in his family. One day he prayed to Israel\’s God, \”Please bless me and give me a lot of land. Be with me so I will be safe from harm.\” And God did just what Jabez had asked.
1 Chronicles 4:9-10 CEV
He decided to do something about his past. Where and who did he turn to? He understood that God was the source. So he prayed to God. If you read that prayer, it’s just a simple prayer. But check this out. It was answered immediately, “and God did just what Jabez asked\”!
God is no respecter of persons. What he did for Jabez, He can do for any one of his children and can still do for many others who call upon Him. All He asks is for us His children to repent and acknowledge Him in our lives. The beginning of each new year is always a defining moment when most of us pass the so-called ‘new year resolutions’ which to a large extent get aborted in the first quarter of the year. Why? Because they have no divine backing from the Source.
So I say again, repent if you need to turn around your life in this brand new 2020. Remember that repentance is a willful mindset change. It\’s an opportunity to declare, “Enough of this rotten life I have lived till now”. It’s a chance for a fresh new start. You have an opportunity to do things differently in the new year.
God’s arms are stretched open wide enough to receive you back into a renewed fellowship with him. He desires to set you free from a life of challenges and bondage. He wants you free from the servitude to sin. Are you trapped in continued failure? He is available to help you turn around your life from failure to success. Remember Jabez? You can pray to this God I know who can snatch you from destruction into hope; from burning embers of guilt and shame to brightness and peace. You can rise and shine again from the drowning of dreams to living your dream and purpose. He takes away hardcore pain too. Easily for that matter.
How do you go forward with your life?
Indeed what must you do to turn around your life? Perhaps you are even asking yourself, ‘What is my life’s purpose on this earth”? Where do you start from? OK let me help you. Let’s start from right here with this scripture recorded in the Bible in the book of Matthew.
“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes
Matthew 6: 25-34 MSG
Oh My! I would say these verses summarize what most of us are preoccupied with, right there. Clothes, food, looks, and let me throw in fame too. These are things that consume us year in and year out. At the end of each year, we look back to examine our accomplishments based on very earthly things. Like the scripture quoted above, we are rarely concerned with more important matters of our spirituality, which is our fellowship with Him.
So again, how are you going to move forward? By seeking God first and His Righteousness. That’s how. It’s about a mindset change from sowing to the lust of the flesh and beginning to sow to the desires of the spirit. I hear you asking again, “Where does one start from?”
Start from here: Understand your purpose first. It’s not about being focused and preoccupied with worldly fame or career ambition and success. I tell you the truth it’s not even about you finding love and starting a family. All these must not be your primary focus and concern. And No, it’s not about making lots of money either. It’s about, wait for it, it’s about this;
Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things.
(Matthew 6:33 GNB)
….and he will provide you with all these other things you require for your life. Period. Let me make it clear that it is not that these other things are bad, they are not. It’s just that they should not be placed before the main purpose for which you were created, which is to know God and exalt him with your life. When you get that straight and understand this position, the rest will be ‘plain sailing’, as they say.
OK, How Do I Proceed With My Life Purpose in 2020?
Good question! Set your priorities in the right order. This will help to balance out your life. If you already have an inkling of your purpose in life and even a firm handle of who you are meant to be in this life then this becomes easier for you. Some of you may even know that your lives belong to God and you are not meant to live for yourselves but for Him. However you have not set your minds on the things above. This is the best time to do it. You are called to mindset change and total renewal of the mind. In short time to understand God\’s specific plan for your life and then set your priorities.
It\’s now time to soberly examine your life. Ask yourself many probing questions like; what are my gifts and talents? What has God deposited in me for my life to run in his purpose? What interests am I endowed with and how can I utilize these to run my life purpose? You could be involved in doing all manner of great things, but are those things really part of God\’s purpose for your life? Think. Ponder. And Think again.
Your gifts, talents and interests could be what God endowed you with for you to work in His vineyard, that is His Kingdom. He wants to use your special gifting for the promotion and growth of His Kingdom here in the earth.
Getting to establish your priorities is not meant to be about choice between the good and the bad. When you decide to live your God-given purpose in life, this is settled. So consider this; make your choices between what is good and what is best; and between what is beneficial and is actually God’s will for you. He has endowed you with particular interests, skills and gifts. So, flow in the direction of your interests and gifts, because this is how and why God created you. It is about getting the most from your life. So set your priorities as this will help you to tone down your involvement to a acceptable levels.
For this article the last task you have, if you are going to live a balanced life is simply: make a plan. There\’s a money lender\’s commercial that comes on our local television viewing. For every act in the commercial which goes wrong, the main actor says, \”I will make a plan\”. Eventually this plan leads to him borrowing the money to fulfill the plan. I like it! Everyone needs to make a plan.
You may understand your purpose and establish your priorities, but if you have no plan on how to accomplish this, it will never happen. Nothing will happen until you make it happen. It is far too easy to let life drive you along and your daily schedule be filled with what you may think are the priorities of the day. If you are not deliberate in planning out your life, your life will float, and life will “just happen.” You may want your life to happen on purpose, but remember that you can’t get everything done. Don\’t try to do more than God wants you to. You have just enough time to do what God wants you to do.
OK! There you have it. I have tried to guide you as well as I could possibly do within my effort. The rest is up to you and God. Listen to His voice by the Holy Spirit.
Did I help you in anyway with this post? If you feel that you still need more understanding, let\’s connect here. I am standing by. I am here to help. I too would definitely appreciate your feedback. Let\’s get the conversation going. I would love to read your comments below. Yes, go ahead, say something.
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In the meantime, Stay Blessed and Inspired In 2020.
