See I am doing a new thing – A reflection on God’s truth and Ways to resource us for a journey of Hope and change in 2017

Isaiah 43:19 “See I am doing a new thing”  A reflection on my journey throughout 2016.

• John 6:28 Then they asked Jesus, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”  29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  This can be the hardest work we ever do; to believe!  To believe the word God has spoken without seeing the path ahead.  To believe that our God is all powerful and watches over His word to perform it. (Jer 1:11)  To believe He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:32)  We live by Faith; Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Heb 11:1)

• To listen and take time to listen to God daily much more than we have ever done

• As God speaks and gives direction, it is crucial to take time to respond to God with honesty about what we think and feel until we are prepared to believe his words to us and obey them

• TRUST TRUST TRUST! That means we face the questions, uncertainty and unknowns of each day actively declaring the truth about who God is to us rather than swallowing lies about God, ourselves or the circumstances.

• Worship God for who he is, especially on the darkest days when you don’t see the way ahead, and you feel sad and fearful, empty and helpless, lonely and isolated.  I walked many miles with my headphones, soaking in the truth about who God is as I listen to others singing their praise to God.

• Pray!  Ask God daily for His revelation and wisdom, to open the eyes of your heart so you will know him more and begin to see your circumstances from His perspective, despite what you see in your circumstances with human eyes.

• Learn to take captive every thought.  Our minds are a battleground and the enemy will come with accusation, judgements, unbelief, isolation, pity, hopelessness and on it goes.  Its important we discover what our real enemies are and ask Holy Spirit to teach us how to deal with and disarm them, otherwise we will run round in circles, get weary and even more vulnerable until we hide in the walls we build in our hearts.  The trouble is those walls also keep God out.  Don’t let the enemy rob you of your ultimate source, Jesus who has overcome and daily offers us his life for our death.  He is real!  It is real!  We really can receive all we need, remember “Give us this day our daily bread.” whether that is bread for our Spirit, Mind, Emotions or body.

• Speak to God and others about what you face, the struggles you have, the fears in you heart and ask them to pray with you.  Isolation makes us vulnerable.  We must practice being real with ourselves and with others.  We can only embrace change and move forward from where we’re actually at.  This means there is no room for denial, hiding, running away, keeping busy or any other coping mechanisms we have.  Father God is big enough to hold us as we pour out our hearts, comfort every pain, hear our complaints, even rage.  He knows.  He understands.

• Rejoice, Rejoice and again I say Rejoice  We have a good good Father!  He knows the plans He has for us!  They are plans to prosper us not to harm us!  Nothing can separate us from His love. 

• Choose Life!  We may not know where we’re going.  We may not understand why we are walking in the way we go.  BUT we can choose who we walk with.  We can choose to believe God is good.  We can choose to surround and join with others who love Jesus and are walking in His Ways.  We can choose life.

• We praise God who is Faithful to His word and faithful to us
• We praise God who Loves us and shows his love to us every moment of every day.
• We praise God for his Kindness in caring for every detail of our lives
• We praise God for his Grace – giving us the power to be who he has made us to be and to do what he has made us to do.
• We praise God for his Mercy, healing and restoring us, meeting every need.  Even in December we experienced this as God healed and restored Paul who had a lump in his tongue.  When the surgeon came to cut it out, it had shrunk so small there was nothing to remove.  Within 48 hours even the surgeons cut and stitches was completely healed.
• We praise Him as The God of all Comfort
• We praise God for his Compassion and the way he meets us in love
• We praise God who gives more than we can ask or imagine – who took us to the ends of the earth and enabled us to welcome our grandson and be family together.
• We praise God for his provision, a new home and a Christian neighbour who has served Jesus all her life and is one of his precious treasure boxes.
• We praise God who is Father to us, guiding, protecting, covering, reassuring and affirming us
• We praise God who is with us, He never leaves us or forsakes us
• We praise God who is Holy Spirit who dwells in us and makes the presence and power of Jesus real in our lives.
• We praise God who is Living word, who sees the way, who lights the way.
• We praise God who is Truth.  Jesus is truth and when we know Him, He sets us Free
• We praise God who is Creator and who gives us the great privilege of Co-Creating new things with Him
• We praise The God who makes all things new, the God who is doing a new thing in my life and yours.

Voice within. What do you hear. 
2017 will be a year of ………………………