As we enter into a new year, we close a decade our lives. We can look back and see God’s amazing grace working in and through the good and challenging times. What will be said of the next decade or even just the next year? The answer to this question is in God’s hands, but it is also in ours. If we take inventory of the things we would like to change, set it in our faith and accompany it with quality decisions, 2020 can be the greatest year of our lives. If we sow new seeds, we can reap a new harvest!
Don’t Blame God for a Failed Crop
Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” The Lovett’s Translation says, “Make no mistake about it, no one can sneer at God’s laws and get away with it. A man always harvests the same field in which he sows.” The spiritual law of sowing and reaping must be respected. This law works in every department of our lives. The Phillip’s Translation declares, “Don’t be under any illusion: you cannot make a fool of God! A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows.” If our harvest field in 2009 was not what we wanted, then we need to look at ourselves and make some changes.
Make New Decisions for a New Harvest
Deuteronomy 30:19 declares, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” One definition of insanity is doing the same thing you did yesterday and expecting a different result. If we don’t like where our lives are headed in some area, we can do something about it! Change doesn’t happen because we desire another result, it happens because we make new decisions. If we’re not pleased with our health, we can do something different. If our relationships aren’t working, let’s make changes based on God’s Word. Change is more in our control than we sometimes think. God’s grace will help us come in line with truth, but ultimately we are the ones who have to make the everyday, life or death, blessing or cursing decisions.
Take Real Action Now
Proverbs 13:4 tells us, “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and has nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.” The NIV says, “The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desire of the diligent are fully satisfied.” The Living Bible explains, “Lazy people want much but get little, while the diligent are prospering.” Remember, nothing good comes to us if we’re just watching from the sidelines. Robert Schuller once said, “You will never get ahead until you start advancing.” A Norwegian proverb tells us, “The lazier a man is, the more he plans tomorrow.”
Be Honest with Yourself
James 2:20 declares, “Are you willing to be shown (proof), you foolish (unproductive, spiritually deficient) fellow, that faith apart from (good) works is inactive and ineffective and worthless” (Amp.). Without an honest evaluation of ourselves and a willingness to be shown from God’s Word the unfruitful areas of our lives, we will not change. Making excuses for ourselves only keeps us trapped in the same harvest field. Real change comes first by being honest with ourselves and God.
You Can Do It With God’s Help
Philippians 4:13 encourages us, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” The Johnson’s Translation explains it this way, “I can do anything I need to do because Christ is the energizing center of my life.” There is no situation that we cannot influence with the Greater One living in us! If we give our all to God, He will meet us at our point of need and bless us greatly.
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