Life Ministries

A View of 2014

    Before each one of us is a new year. A year ripe with opportunities. With a right view of ourselves, the right view of the world around us, and a right view of the church and our part in the church, 2014 can be an unbelievable year! However, it will require three things we will absolutely need to succeed;

    First, we will need Determination. Let’s face it, we have all made some New Years resolutions in the past… we are all masters of “good intentions.” Our problem is the determination to see it through. There is an old  saying; “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” For many of us it’s more like; “When the going gets tough, we just stop going!” Whatever God has in mind for the New Year, whether for ourselves, our church, or our world, let’s face it with the determination to - follow through - and see it through - to completion.
    Second, we need Direction. It’s not enough just to have the determination it takes to reach our goals; we must also make sure we have the right goals. We need to be sure we are heading in the right direction.
    I love the story of the woman who was driving in Colorado, when she ran into a snowstorm. It was a dandy… a real “whiteout”. As she peered ahead she saw the flashing yellow light of a snowplow. “What luck” she thought, and she kept as close as she could while the plow removed the snow from the roadway. At times the heavy snow almost cut off her view completely, but the faithful plow kept leading the way. After some time, the snowplow stopped, the driver got out, and walked back to her car…”Where are you going lady?” to which she replied, “I’m on my way to Denver”…“Well”, said the driver, “You’ll never get there following me around this parking lot!” We need goals, but we also need to be going in the right direction.
    More than anything in the coming year, we need to do what our scripture for today says; “Trust the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on our own understanding; in all our ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make our paths straight.”  In God’s Word, we are given two great stories or examples about trust; The first is found in Numbers chapters 13 and 14 - Moses has led the Israelites out of Egypt, and they were about to cross the Jordan and enter the “promised land”.  The spies go to observe the land, and they come back with proof that it is just as God said it would be! But, they also said that its residents were as big as Texas and they themselves were like Aikenites in their own eyes! And, of course, we know that they did not enter the land and continued to wander in their gloom and doom attitude for 40 years.
    The second story is much like the first. It’s found in the first 6 chapters of Joshua. The people again came to the banks of the Jordan; Again spies are sent into the city; This time they come back with a different report; In 2:24 they say - “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; for all the people there are melting in fear because of us”….Oh, really? Rahab had told them that the people were melting in fear because of their God! Anyway, this time the people trust God - they even do things that make no sense whatsoever, like marching around the city of Jericho; but, because of their trust, when they shout after the seventh time around, the walls of Jericho fell!
    Trust always has the element of risk involved. The very nature of trust is that the result is dependent on someone or something else. Maybe we don’t trust because of the risks involved. Maybe we’re just all control freaks…we want to call the shots, and we are afraid something is going to go wrong. But, God says; “Trust with all your heart!” The question then is; “In 2014 will you trust God with your life? Will you let Him work through you to accomplish His will? Will you stick to it with determination by His direction; or will you call the shots?
    In 2014 will you trust God with our nation and the world? Whether good times or bad times, are you willing to trust that God is in control? Or, are you going to spend yet another year, wondering  and wandering, and worrying about what might or - might not - happen?
    In 2014, Are we going to trust God with His church? Are we going to trust what Jesus said; “I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it!” Will we trust that God wants His church to grow and reach out with determination…under His direction?…even when it makes no sense?  Or shall we approach 2014 with “Same old, same old”?
    We ought to always expect and prepare for great things from God! We can’t even begin to think or imagine what He can do in 2014 if, we seek His direction; follow through with determination; and trust Him with all our heart…oh yes, and if we have the proper view of ourselves; our world; our church and our God.