Life Upward

WOW! It’s been almost a year since my last post. Boy, I’ve missed writing!! Definitely one thing that will change this year!

It’s another year with resolutions for change and commitments to improve in some area of our lives. We’re determined at the beginning to work very hard and be very diligent in making those resolutions stick. But what happens?  We tire, loose faith, are weak, and end up giving up…and that’s just in the first two weeks! We first beat ourselves up for not being able to follow-thru, then convince ourselves we really tried but it was too difficult and maybe it just wasn’t meant to be this year. Instead of making those amazing changes, we settle with our inadequacies and weaknesses and say, “next year,” and thus this year becomes “just another year…”

I’d like to challenge us (me included), and encourage us, and loudly proclaim that this NOT be just another year! This year can be different and not just the ’same ole, same ole!’ This year can be full, adventurous, life-changing, life-touching, and successful!  We can change those things that need to change, enlarge those areas that need to grow, and go after those things that seemed too big! How? By asking the Holy Spirit to give us the strength, wisdom, and guidance to persevere and succeed!

Resolutions are fine to make, but really, we can’t succeed in a good many of them on our own! And to be honest, if we can, then we aren’t dreaming big enough! Come on! We need the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish those life changing goals! We need the power of God! Christ told us in John 15:5 “..Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” And in Matthew 26:41 when Christ was speaking with His disciples, He tells them, “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” I can relate with the disciples!

So how do we make sure this year is different than the last? First, remain in Christ by praying (talking with Him) and reading His Word. And not just reading, but asking the Holy Spirit to give us revelation and understanding, and then….applying it to our lives! Let’s be ‘doers’ of His Word. Matthew 26:41 in the Amplified Bible says “keep awake, give strict attention, be cautious and active, and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation…” I believe that is actively interacting with the Spirit of God and not just moseying along in life.

Let’s ask the Spirit to show us what He wants for us this year, what things He wants us to change, and what things He wants us to go for! And then, the BIGGEST thing – ask Him for His strength to accomplish it! Christ’s last words on the cross were “It is finished.” He finished, accomplished, what He was sent to earth to do! Since He’s already completed it, let’s ask for His strength and power to accomplish all He has for us to do! At the end of 2011, we too can say, “I accomplished all He asked for me and it was not just another year! What an amazing year it was!!”

This statement may sound a little strange – being a prisoner of anything – but let me explain, and you may become a prisoner of hope, too!

“Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], you prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you.” Zechariah 9:12 (Amplified Bible)

Maybe thinking of being a ‘prisoner’ brings thoughts of captivity and no freedom! And in our culture, this is true and not a good thing being a prisoner! But in this scripture verse, being a prisoner of hope is actually a very good thing, trusting in the God of ALL hope. One meaning of prisoner is “kept in restraint; captive,” and captive means “dominated by.” Being a prisoner of hope is being someone that is “kept in” thinking nothing BUT hope, dominated in thought of NOTHING but hope! No matter what life may dish out, or how difficult a situation may look, being a prisoner of hope is being bound in believing the best is yet to come, the answer is going to come, victory is going to break thru, hope is all that’s seen!

I’m a prisoner of hope! Life is difficult at times w/obstacles that seem impossible and events that change my life, causing me frustration, hurt, and pain. I could look at these issues as insurmountable and impossible and give up, OR I could trust God completely KNOWING that a better day is coming, that the answer is coming soon, and that nothing is impossible w/God! I can’t think anything BUT HOPE! I am a captive of hope, kept in hope, and hope has never failed me! I’m a prisoner of hope in God and His Word, and know that He has the best in store for me and my family! My prayer is that you will be a prisoner of hope, too!

2010 has dawned! A New Year, as well as a New Decade, has arrived! Great expectations fill the air for a better life than what 2009 or the previous decade offered. But as goals and resolutions are made, doubt and fear can creep in as these plans and intentions aren’t reached in the time we think they should be, or what we believe God told us would happen hasn’t happened yet, and an overwhelming sense of ‘impossibility’ can begin to grow. But don’t let it!

In Genesis 15:1-6, God  told Abraham that He would bless him, but Abraham asked, “How?” since he was childless. Having children and seeing your family name continue were (and are!) great blessings! Abraham did not have any children, and now he and Sarah were very old, way pass the time of being fruitful, and he didn’t see how it would be possible. God took Abraham ‘out of his tent,’ out of his circumstances and what he viewed in the natural, and showed him the expanse of the sky and the ‘impossibility’ that would one day BE possible. Abraham believed and trusted God, and it was counted to him as righteousness!

In Romans 4:18-22, Paul reminds us that even when there was no reason to hope, Abraham DID hope in what God had said! He believed even though his and Sarah’s bodies were past the time for them to have children. Abraham did not doubt God’s promise, and believed that what God said He would do, He WILL do! He was fully convinced that NOTHING was impossible with God! His faith actually grew as he continued to believe in God’s Word, year after year after year!

Life in 2009 may have been very difficult in many ways - emotionally draining, physically exhausting, and financially spent – causing frustration, doubt, fear, and even unbelief to set in! But don’t give in and never give up! My prayer for my life and for yours is that we not look at the circumstances of our lives and see the impossibilities that surround us. Let’s instead believe, trust, and rely upon God and His Word, and see that NOTHING is impossible with Him! I pray that as we trust God in ALL things, the Source of ALL hope, that He will fill you and I with joy and peace, and a ‘confident’ hope for this coming year! (Romans 15:13). This year is filled with SO much hope, possibility, excitement, and prosperity! Let’s make the choice to trust in Him completely this year, and watch our faith grow and our hope rise again in Twenty-Ten (2010)!