Thought 237
2009 Clarity…. 2010 Moving
Forward
A previous pastor at my church, Pastor Brock,
preached a couple of sermons, each at the beginning of separate years in which
he testified to what God had spoken to him about the coming year. God revealed
to Pastor Brock that the year of 2009 would be a year of CLARITIY in our
decisions, dreams, and desires; the truth was that it was a year of clarity for
me. When I look back to 2009 I remember the joy of rededicating my life to the
Lord, of being called into the ministry, of being told to write this book, of
water baptism, of the birth of my second sister, and of much more. It was a
year of clarity! Is all this a big coincidence? No, this is God simply using a
servant of His to spread His word to His people and it was proved true over the
course of that year! Nothing happens by
accident, because God reigns over all. God still speaks today, He is not silent
and uninvolved!
In 2010, a few months
before God moved him to a different state, Pastor Brock again had a message.
This time the message was Moving Forward in faith, future, favor, and finances.
Well, it is only September 9th as I am writing this, but yet again
this message has rung true in my life. This year hasn’t been as clear as last
year was and I have had to exercise faith much more. Likewise, financially, God
has blessed me with work and monetary gifts, my average income per year, based
on a rough estimate will be doubled by the end of 2010. In terms of favor (grace), God has been raining
down many blessings this year: from completing my Gold Medal of Achievement
(like Eagle Scout) to the blessing of being self-taught in 11th
Grade (except for Spanish and geometry)—I am also doing better and developing
self-teaching skills that are bound to prove beneficial over the course of my
life. In addition, God has helped me to realize that my work with young men
isn’t about helping them earn a Gold Medal of Achievement that is simply a
benefit. The ultimate goal is for me to continue to be faithful to Christ and
mentor the young men that God allows me to serve. God also led me to start
teaching a Young Adult Bible Study which has had some pretty neat results.
To keep this short, I
won’t go on about the many other ways the Lord has blessed and helped me Move
Forward this year, but I pray the Holy Spirit will reveal to you some of the
things that He has done in your life over the course of a years’ time.
I have found that writing a list or article
about what God has taught me throughout a year to be a source of encouragement.
Perhaps if you develop a similar compilation it will be an encouragement to
you.
