Happy New Month. Welcome to August. Month Number 8 - The Number of New Beginnings.
It's amazing that we have only four months left to the end of 2020 and I'm super stoked that we still have a chance to make something great & awesome out of this year that has seemingly been gloomy and has been cancelled by many - well aside from me. I still haven't cancelled 2020 and I have no plans of cancelling it. Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose". I believe with every fiber of my being that this year will still yield that which the Lord had purposed as we crossed over from 2019. Job, in the midst of his trials affirmed this. Job 42:2 "I know that you can do all things; n purpose of yours can be thwarted".
As I reflect on New Beginnings, I'm drawn to Isaiah 43:18-19 "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert". So here we are, a lot has happened especially these past 7 months of 2020 and probably you may have numerous other things that you have kept dragging along year in, year out. I'm here to encourage you - FORGET! Forget what has not worked. Forget the disappointments. Forget the heartache. Forget the rejection. Forget the failed projects. Forget the missed opportunities. FORGET!!
The only way you can perceive the new thing that the Lord is doing is only if you look forward. Constantly looking back can cost you. I'm reminded of Lot's wife as they were leaving Sodom and Gomorrah when God was about destroying the city. The instructions were very clear - Genesis 19:17 "As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, 'Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" Lo! and Behold! Lot's wife decided to look back. Probably to get a final glimpse of the place she had called home for a while, maybe she needed to say goodbye to the things she had accumulated over time or probably she was entertaining thoughts of going back. Genesis 17:26 "But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt". Choose not to focus on the former things. Forgive yourself for the mistakes of the past and forge ahead. I know sometimes it's really hard to forget things that you held dearly to and they just did not work. You are having a hard time forgiving yourself for the mistakes.
As we begin this month, I'm just here to gas you up, send positive vibes your way and encourage you to look forward. I can assure you, it doesn't matter what happened before. It doesn't matter what mistakes you have made. Child of God, lift up your head and dry your eyes. You have cried for so long. God is doing a new thing. Claim that new thing that the Lord is doing - He has exalted His word above His name and I can guarantee you, He is doing a new thing. As I forge ahead, there is something that I've learnt and I have embraced especially over the last few months - watching what I say. I'm being very intentional in my utterances. Do not forget that we are co-creators with God. We have been created in the image of God and if God can speak and things come into being, trust me, you being created in His image can also speak and things come into being. Question though is, what are you speaking? What are you creating with your words.
Learn how to speak positive words. Be careful what you speak into your situation, no matter how gloomy or impossible it looks. Draw your utterances from the word of the Lord - His never changing word. Your words carry a lot of power, you cannot be careless especially when you are thinking of New Beginnings. The Word of the Lord is already established but it is your responsibility as a Child of God to enforce that word in your life through your words. Given, you may be privileged to sit in a Prophetic house and have several prophetic words over your life, but are you establishing the prophecies by your words? When Ezekiel was taken to the valley of dry bones, God placed the responsibility of speaking to the dry bones for them to come to life on him.
Ezekiel 37: 1-3 "The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "Sovereign Lord, you alone know".
Ezekiel 37:4-6" Then he said me, "Prophecy to these bones and say to them, ' Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the sovereign Lord says to these bones; I will make breath enter you and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord".
Ezekiel 37:7-8 "So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
Ezekiel 37:9-10 Then He said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet - a vast army".
Technically speaking, God already has spoken concerning the many different situations that we go through in life. The Word of the Lord has covered every single need that we will ever encounter in our journey of life. It is however your responsibility to speak into your situation. Prophesy to your situation. I would love to encourage, even as we look at the Month of New Beginnings and as we head to the end of 2020, despite what has been going on, watch what you say. Speak life into your life. Don't be a prophet of doom. Don't let your words kill your dreams. It doesn't matter the outlook/the situation. Speak life. Above all, may you perceive the New Thing that the Lord is doing. He is making a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. May the Lord bless you. May the Lord keep you and may the Lord make His face shine upon you. I join my faith to yours and I pray that whatever you are trusting God for in this 8th month - may it come to pass. May the Lord fulfill all the desires of your heart and meet you at your point of faith.
God bless you. God loves you.
Side Note: Weekly devotions are back. I took a bit of a break, I don't know why, I'm still struggling to figure out why I took the break but oh well. I'm trusting God to be consistent and keep sharing the lessons He is taking me through.