A Fresh New Year ~ 2012
Some time ago while struggling through a challenging season I was reading God’s word, this phrase from Galatians caught my eye and demanded an answer.
“You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” Gal 5:7
Excuse me?
Hmm….Good question…who did cut in on me and God; why am I almost standing still? …And as I asked Him that question, he answered… “You did. You cut in on yourself and you are keeping yourself from continuing in the race. YOU are interfering with your race.” Ouch! Me? But God…I’d rather blame “someone else” (…then I can wait until my circumstances change before moving forward). As I cried out in prayer, I then realized I had been allowing my negative thought patterns to cut in and derail me from my race, to keep me from the truth.
Gal 5:8 goes on to say: “That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.”
I repented. “This is not from you God…you have placed a call on my life…you can use every circumstance for good…what will I do with it?”
As we enter into 2012, with whatever hopes, dreams and plans God has given us, let us not cut in on ourselves and stop our “good race”. What are your thoughts telling you? Are they truth? Check them against God’s Word. God has a plan and purpose for each one of us women. As Gal 5:1 says: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
New year’s “resolutions” can be a yoke of slavery (I resolve) or they can be the vision that has you standing firm in Christ’s freedom.
Do you have a vision, not a “resolution”, for 2012? Sit down with God and ask Him what His call on your life is and set goals that, with His help and guidance, you can work toward. Yes, that applies to every one of us…what is His/your vision for you as a single woman… as a wife… as a mom… as an employee… as a friend? If you are married, sit down with your husband and set a vision for your marriage for 2012!
Now, WRITE THE VISION! Set goals to accomplish that vision and invite God into your daily planning.
Success, for me as a woman of God, is about walking with God…daily…sometimes seemingly standing still and waiting; sometimes flying at breakneck speed, knowing this is of His doing, not mine. In all seasons, I need His guidance, His wisdom, His freedom and I need to trust Him in the race!
God had me read Galatians again as I moved into 2012, reminding me that my trust is in Him, not in what I can do, but what He can do in me and through me.
As my husband Glen and I move from what seemed like a “standstill, leaning and learning” season, during which time we set a vision and goals for our marriage ministry, into a “breakneck speed” season of watching God open doors above and beyond what we can ask or imagine to bring healing and hope to marriages, I ask for your prayers. With God, ALL things are possible! Don’t let negative thought patterns and heart attitudes cut in on your life race.
DREAM BIG in 2012…with God!
Jan is a wife, mother (and mother-in-law) and grandmother to seven. She has a desire and passion to see marriages thrive, not just survive. She and her husband Glen minister with NAME Canada ~ The National Association of Marriage Enhancement.
Check out their Facebook page at glenandjankyle@yahoo.ca
NAME Canada website: http://namecanada.net/site/
NAME International: http://www.nameonline.net/
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