I feel very strongly that 2017 is
the beginning of a new era. I am well aware of the fact that our calendar is
not built on God’s calendar. Both Calendars are not necessarily in alignment so
that the end of a year may not be an indication of the end of a season in God’s
calendar and vice versa. However, for some strange reasons, I feel like the end
of this past year was actually the closure of a season and this year 2017 is
like a completely new season. I am just so convinced that God has started a new
thing which we cannot figure out on our own so that it is best to stay tuned to
God’s frequency so that you don’t miss any instructions. It would appear that
we are about to walk a path that we have never walked before and so we have to
really hold on tight to our guide whose name is Jesus Christ. Please do not
fight me if you do not agree because this is what I perceive; it is okay to
have your own perception. Please note that the fact that Jesus is the way does
not make Him just the way to God for getting to heaven but He is also the way
to God if we must walk in any of the benefits that is ours through Christ.
John 14: 6 “Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me.”
So many things seem to have
shifted even with what we knew to be normal; for example women close to sixty years
of age getting pregnant naturally even after menopause is strange but it is
happening and there are several other such things which are indicative of some
form of change or shift in what we know to be God’s methodology or thought was
normal. We must allow ourselves accept the reality that God is working in ways
we would consider strange normally. If we don’t, we may be on the wrong side of
God’s miracles. Obviously, we all want God’s actions to do us good and not harm
but as with every great thing that God does, anyone wrongly positioned may
suffer from it; and understanding impacts on positioning. If we are aware of
the fact that He may be working differently, then we would be more careful in
taking our stance.
Proverbs 18: 15 “Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their
ears are open for knowledge.”
When God visited the home of Abraham
and blessed him with Isaac; Hagar and Ishmael were driven out of the house
because they lacked understanding of the great work God had done in the entire
story of Isaac’s birth including even the timing. The miracle that took place
in that house caught them on the ill prepared and as a result, without meaning
to be cynical about God’s working, they were; and had to be cast out. In
mocking Sarah, Ishmael was unwittingly mocking God who waited until Sarah was
that old to give her a baby. Who knows what would have happened if they had
accepted Isaac as the child of promise and had respect toward the workings of
God? Obviously, they were caught on the wrong side of this miracle. I believe they
did not understand God’s ways enough to understand His power and ability to
accomplish whatever He desires, when He wants to and in any way He chooses to
do it.
Isaiah 46: 9 – 10 “Remember the things I have done in the past. For I
alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the
future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do
whatever I wish.”
It is important to be prepared in
one’s mind when God is starting a new thing. Every time He does this, it is because
He wants to do us good; it will be sad if we miss out on the good He had
planned which happens often because we were ill prepared to deal with Him working
things out differently from the way we have always known Him to. Sarah and
Abraham were so used to God’s normal that when God seemed late in giving them
the promised child, she decided to help God and the world still suffers from
that act today. If only they had known that God could do as He wished and was
never too late. Indeed, He determines when it is late. Until He declares it
late, it is not late. The only way to live at this point is to remain focused
on the author and finisher of our faith. If we keep our eyes on Him, we will
know His voice and apply our hearts to wisdom; the Holy Spirit guiding us in “The
Way.”
Hebrews 12: 1 - 2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge
crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that
slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips up. And let us run with
endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on
Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”
One principal thing we must do is
forget the past. Forgetting the past includes forgetting His past method. We can’t
afford to be stuck on His old method. To be open to God is to pay attention and
wait on Him to see how He will do what He will do. In the course of the Israelites
journey to the Promised Land, they lost a battle only because they assumed they
had the appropriate battle strategy but this strategy was based on God’s previous
instructions which seemed to follow a pattern. They had observed God for a
while and assumed that His strategies were somehow tied to the numeric strength
of their enemies’ army. They forgot that their Commander-in-chief had His own method
which was based entirely on parameters that only He was aware of. We must learn
to discern His voice as we walk with Him in simple obedience.
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