Happy New Year to each of you. We have had a great 2011, and now it’s time to move into a 2012. Each of us should plan on growing in this new year, to become more faithful and to let our spiritual growth show up in our daily lives by the way we spend our time and treat each other.
I pray for us all, to become more and more a part of God’s plan to bless your surrounding communities we come from, through our actions and love of neighbors. We each touch several lives and if we are prayerful and aware, we can see ways to offer God’s love in those connections, whether at work or school at home or community or in our play and fun times. If we pray more often, “Use me O God, in this place and time, give me a word of encouragement or hope in this conversation or situation”, we will begin to see God’s miracles too.
We often wish we could have been around for a burning bush or the parting of the Red Sea or Jesus feeding thousands or walking on water or raising the dead. But the same kind of miracle is available whenever God is at work in our situations. Let’s be more mindful of those possibilities and we will see awesome evidence of God this coming year. Start by praying to hear God’s voice more clearly.
I heard God speak clearly to me a while back. I was driving home after watching the Super Bowl at my brother’s house, when I heard a voice tell me to change lanes. I was driving in the left lane of two on the road. I hate driving the curb lane because I feel like I don’t have any options available to me from there. Anyway, not once or twice but at least three times I heard, move over Jeff, move over. So when I did, the car crossing the double yellow line only hit me in the corner of my car, instead of a full impact. I was spared a life or at least a great deal of injury.
A few days later, I was very aware that God had helped me in this case, and I began to wonder what other times God had spoken to me and I hadn’t acted upon it? I still try really hard to pay attention to when God speaks to me. It isn’t always an audible voice, but the words of advice from friends and colleagues, or a word of Scripture comes to mind at the right moment. This is just as Jesus said it would happen. He said the Holy Spirit would remind us of what we needed if we let him.
So for a New Year’s Resolution, let’s all ask God to equip us with the voice of the Holy Spirit that we recognize the guidance and warnings and advice God gives us each time we need it.
The great thing about faith in God is that we can begin a new connection to God and a new way to live at any time, it just isn’t at or near midnight on Dec. 31, but anytime our hearts and soul is quickened to what God is up to.
May each of you have a great New Year and may each of you see progress in your spiritual journey this year. We follow and Awesome God. All Year Long
