This Year I Will . . .

By Andrea Merrell

God has great plans for all of us in 2017.

Each day brings new mercies, new opportunities, new challenges, and lots of blessings. Please join me as we enter a new season, and let’s walk together into the New Year with joy and anticipation as we look for God's faithfulness.

This year I will . . .

• Listen to God – I will open my ears and my heart to the voice of the Lord and follow the leading of His Holy Spirit. Lord, help me to be quick to hear and obey.
• Trust God – This year I will trust God more than ever before. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV).
• Practice self-control – I will remain calm and level-headed regardless of situations and circumstances. I will guard my heart, my thoughts, and my words. Lord, help me to be an instrument of peace wherever I go.
• Recognize and follow my calling – I will honestly assess my strengths and weaknesses and concentrate on the gifts, talents, and abilities God has placed inside me. I will recognize my limitations and never try to be something or someone I was never meant to be.  For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose
  
  (Philippians 2:13 NIV).
• Let God be God in my life –Without God I am nothing and can do nothing, but Philippians 4:13 (AMPC) tells me I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

According to pastor and author Bob Gass:

Today, God is, in essence, saying to you: “Live by My Word in every area of your life. Learn to be sensitive to My voice, quick to respond and to obey. My yoke is easy and My burden is light. I’ll never give you anything too hard to handle or too heavy to carry.  Give Me your concerns—one by one as they arise. Delight yourself in the assurance of My love, My provision, and My protection, and I will give you the desires of your heart. Because the Devil is the accuser, he’ll constantly point to your flaws and failures and tell you you’re not worthy.  Don’t listen—he’s the father of lies. I’ve saved you by My grace and positioned you in Christ. I see you through His atoning blood; therefore, you are always accepted in My eyes. Give Me all your anxieties and cares. Begin to live in the present, not the past or the future. Look for My blessings and you’ll find them. Enjoy life in all its fullness, for this is My plan for you this year."

Wishing you a blessed, prosperous, and Spirit-led 2017.

(Photos courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/Stuart Miles/David Castillo Dominici.)

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This year I will look for God's blessings and enjoy life in all its fullness. (Click to Tweet.)

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