OK, so it's officially New Year's Eve and lots of folks are planning to bring in the new year praying and praising; I sure am. The incoming of the new year is a very exciting time; however, I don't want us to go into celebration mode and forget something very important.
Here it goes.
Every trial and tribulation you experienced in 2008 was meant for your perfecting, refinement, and preparation. God allowed you to endure some hardship in order to teach you powerful and valuable lessons.
So please, don't go into 2009 and forget the priceless lessons learned this year.
You see, after God brings us out of something, we shouldn't fall into the very same trap again. Otherwise, we have not learned anything at all, amen? It's up to us to become resolved not to circle the same mountains again in 2009.
When we quote the scripture about "forgetting those things which are behind," (Philippians 3:13) the Apostle Paul didn't mean that we get amnesia and literally forget things. Not at all. Instead, we move beyond our past and press on into the bright future God has for us.
As we continually strive toward better things, those lessons learned in the storm still stay with us and guide us along our road to destiny.
But we've got to be determined to walk out a new path and chart a different course for our lives as the Lord leads us. Now is the time to adopt a fresh perspective and a renewed mindset that says, I won't be defeated in that same area. I won't bump my head up against the same wall in 2009.
Oh no. Not again!
Talk to yourself.
Remind yourself that God taught you way too much in 2008 for you to abandon those principles and end up falling victim to the same things.
Not again.
You had to cry too many nights. You had to work too hard to rebound after what you went through. It cost you too much to bounce back from that negative situation.
Shake yourself and say, "Not again!"
Not after all you've been through.
Oh no. You're much smarter now; more in tune with God; wiser; stronger; better; more determined; more focused.
Whatever God took you through in order to bring about positive changes in your life in 2008, I want you to allow that divine wisdom to guide you in 2009. That way, the new year will be even more productive, joyous, and peaceful than this one.
As always, thanks for reading, and until next time... may you be empowered to prosper!
Dianna Hobbs
www.eewmagazine.com
