Happy New Year 2015! What a privilege and opportunity to continue observing and enjoying the creation of God! This favor from the Lord for you and I says, we have not yet accomplished His purpose here on earth. This is why we are still here and have crossed from 2014 to 2015.
I am sure you have already written your 2015 new year’s resolutions and have mapped out a strategy on how you will accomplish these. New resolutions generate new energy and motivation. This gives hope for a better future or a new you. But here is a question for you. How are you going to guarantee that you will realize the fruits of your resolutions?
You do not have to look to many places to find a guarantee because God has given us a sure guarantee in His Word.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And do not rely on your own understanding.
Acknowledge him in all your ways,
And he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
The first sentence says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart”.
Now that you have these plans written down, you must trust in the Lord. Trust in Him to enable you to do what needs to be done for these resolutions to be realized. Trust Him to grant you favor from anyone that you will need to assist you in these plans. Trust Him for the outcome. Trust Him for your success.
The second sentence, “And do not rely on your own understanding”.
This sentence gives warning by stating what you should not do. What is it that you should not do? You should not rely on your own understanding. This means you should not rely on your education or experience. You must learn to seek God’s guidance in everything that you plan to do. You need the wisdom of God in how to do it and when and where to do it. If you are looking for someone else to partner with, then, you need God to guide you to the right individual. You cannot rely on your experience or knowledge.
The third sentence, “Acknowledge him in all your ways”.
This admonition says you should acknowledge the Lord in every step of your plans.
This means, as you begin to plan, seek God for guidance. As you begin to put your plan
In action, seek God for wisdom and strength. As you see progress in your plans,
Thank God for the progress so far and trust Him to sustain the progress. As you near the
End of seeing fruits of your plans, trust God to bring about a great success. And when
You have realized success of your plans; remember to Praise and thank God for it. Therefore,
You are to acknowledge the Lord at the beginning, during the process, and at the end.
The last sentence, “And he will make your paths straight”.
This last sentence gives a reassuring promise that if you do the preceding three things, then, God will make your paths straight. Notice that this is depending on the previous three sentences. To state it differently, if you do your part, God will do His part.
This is how you can guarantee the success of your 2015 new year’s resolutions.
APPLICATION:
1. How have you in the past realized success in your plans?
2. How has today’s devotion affected your new year’s resolutions?
3. Is there anything you have to change or do it differently after reading this devotion?
Commit your works to the Lord,
And your plans will be established.
Proverbs 16:3
This is
