81. New Year Message 2017

A new year has dawned and has been birthed from the throne room of God. Some of us might look upon this coming year with dread, and some of us might look upon this year with excitement. Now even though the future is a mystery to us all, we are privileged to know the One with the future in His hands. So whether you are excited, scared, or indifferent, your future is within His hands and we need to abide with Him. This made me think of Psalm 91. Let's read verse 1 together:

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

If you read the rest of the Psalm it speaks of God's protection, His provision and His abounding favour. Please go and read the rest of the Psalm yourself, it is really inspiring for 2017. But remember verse one. We need to dwell and abide with Him. Now I pondered what this could mean, and the Lord reminded me of Ephesians 2:6 which tell us that we have been raised up with Christ and that we are sitting with Him in heavenly places. He also reminded me of Colossians 3:1 that tells us that Christ sits at God's right hand, and therefore as part of His body we sit there too.

So what am I saying? God wants you to sit and abide with Him this year. He wants you to realise your position in Christ and sit alongside Him in His place of honour. Now your following question might be; But what does 'sit' mean? Should I not do anything and simply say God must do everything? Or what does it mean? Let us go back to Psalm 91:1.

The Names of God, namely 'Most High' and 'Almighty' appears in Psalm 91:1. The first time the Name 'Most High' is used in the Bible is Genesis 14 and the first time the Name 'Almighty' is used in the Bible is Genesis 17. And in the middle is Genesis 15 and 16. And interestingly our answer lies there. Genesis 15 tells us of what God will do for Abraham if he sits with Him. He will bless Him abundantly, He will give him descendants as the stars in the heaven and He will be his Shield and his great reward (Genesis 15:1). And in Genesis 16 Abraham and Sarah decided not to 'sit' with God in His presence, but to take matters into their own hands and in the process Ishmael was born. And the fact that they didn't 'sit' with God brought them untold heartache and pain.

'Sitting' with God therefore means to trust Him, to believe what His Word says, to live in heavenly places with Him even though your body is still on earth. Sitting with Him means to walk with the Spirit and to follow His leading in everything that you do. Sitting with Him means to go on with your life, to do what you can do to the best of your ability, and then to give over to Him and to rest in His presence. And in His presence you cannot be stressed, you cannot be anxious and you cannot be lacking. In His presence is abundance of everything!

Decide for 2017 to come and sit in His presence. Decide to abide with Him. Decide that Psalm 91 is true and for you today. Do not go out and have your own 'Ishmaels'. That is not God's best for you. You will only make your own life miserable with unnecessary complications. Rather give over to God and believe what He had promised. Stand on His promises and make them your own. Print Psalm 91 out and read it regularly, even by putting it up all over your house. God wants the best for you, but are you willing to abide with Him? All the promises of God in Jesus are Yes and Amen to the glory of God (2 Corinthians 1:20). Grab hold of it and walk in the fullness of all that He came to give you.

Thank you Father for a new year. Thank you for new beginnings. We declare that we will abide and sit with You this year. Because we know that You know best. We look forward to see all that You have planned for us. We hold on to all Your glorious promises. In Jesus Name. Amen

2 comments for “81. New Year Message 2017”

  1. Gravatar of RonelleRonelle
    Posted Thursday, 12 January 2017 at 7:01:03 AM

    What an inspiring way to start 2017. Read God's Word, believe God's word and do God's word. He will guide you, protect you and give you peace if you sit with Him. Have a blessed 2017

  2. Gravatar of BarbaraBarbara
    Posted Friday, 20 January 2017 at 5:55:00 PM

    Hallelujah! ! What a profound Word. With this Word we are set for this year 2017. May the Holy Spirit continue to help us in this year to go by God's rules which are spelled out for us in His Word. Thank you for encouraging us.

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