By: J.O. Lawal
Date: January 03, 2021
Series: From Pastor’s Desk
Number: Vol. 9, No. 35
Beloved: I am glad to welcome you to year 2021. This is the Lord’s doing, and we ought to give Him praise and honour for it. 2020 was a very tough year for many all around the world. But God, in His kindness, saw us through it. And I know that regardless of what this new year also brings up, He will see us through it and make our walk in it a walk of total victory and rest.
But then, for God to make our walk that of absolute victory and rest this year, we too must be determined to do His will all through it. Yes, I know there may be all kinds of things that you have determined or resolved to do in the year. And really, most people often come up with new resolutions every new year, which is not a bad thing in itself. But however grand your new resolutions for this new year may be, if they do not include a resolution to do the will of God in all things, then, they are nothing.
The bible says, “”You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”” (Rev 4:11NIV) Did you see that? God created everything, including mankind, by His will. So, we are not here in the world by our own will. It was not because we wanted to come into the world at this time that we are here. We are here because God wanted us to come. We are here for Him.
Since, then, we are here for God, our lives ought to be about living to please Him. But if we are ignorant of this, we will not give our lives to pleasing Him. And even if we know this but do not resolve in our hearts to live to please Him in all things, we will not live to please Him. That is because there will definitely be circumstances that will want to pressure us to act against His will. And if that determination is not in us to please Him, we may find ourselves yielding to those circumstances and acting contrary to His will.
Yes, according to Scriptures, it is clear that no one can please God by His own power or just because he desires to do so. God Himself has to empower us to please Him and also, in His mercy, make the circumstances of our lives favourable for us to please Him (Zech 4:6; Rom 9:16). But we too have to be willing and determined to please Him. I mean that we have to want what He wants for our lives and be resolved to experience it. Otherwise He won’t be able to produce what He desires in our lives.
Paul tells us in a letter of his that it is God who is at work in us to will and to act according to His good purpose (Phil 2:13). Think about that. If you belong to Christ, God is working in you. And what is He doing? First, He is working to give you desires that are consistent with His purpose for you. Second, He is working to empower you to carry out those desires that are in line with His purpose for you. So, we have not been left alone in handling the business of living to pleasing Him. He is with us and will be with us all the way to see to it that we have everything it is going to take to fully please Him in our lives.
But as I pointed out already, unless we embrace what God wants for us and are determined to see it come to pass in our lives, our lives will never be a fulfilment of His will. Why did most of the people Moses brought out of Egypt fail to enter the place of rest prepared by God for them? Was it because God did not have the power to take them into it? No! Rather, it was because they really did not want what He wanted for them and so were not determined to have it. Therefore, His power could not work in their favour. But look at Daniel, when he was in that godless city, Babylon. The bible says he resolved in his heart not to be defiled but to please God. Because of this, God caused His favour and power to work for him and his friends, so that they were able to please Him and experience His rest all through their stay in Babylon. (Cf. Dan 1:8-16)
In like manner, if we too are determined to walk in the will of God for us this year and are dependent on Him to make it happen, we will certainly experience a great release of His favour, mercy and power on our behalf that will make it so. But if there is no determination in us to live in His will, there is no way His power will be released to make our lives a fulfilment of His good purpose. My prayer, then, is that our hearts will be touched by God to fall in love with His will for us and be determined to live in it, so that we may fully experience His rest in every area of our lives this new year. Amen.
Happy New Year.
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