2024 is now here. How do you feel about this? Are you someone who is pumping with excitement, with plans all neatly laid out? You’ve been on your marks, then you got set, and you were just waiting for that trigger of the new year to GO!
Or, are you someone who sees the new year as just another day, another period in time, a part of a seemingly endless cycle of life, a new calendar full of the same old stuff, etcetera etcetera?

Is your take on the new year like Isaiah 43:19, “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
Or, is it more like Ecclesiastes 1, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity…The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises…What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Verses 2, 5, 9)?

Do you have a set of new year resolutions? All the wonderful things that you will do this year to make your life a better one?
Or, has age, time and experience tempered your resolve for such things? Maybe you were once optimistic that the excitement and freshness of the new year will be the thing that will fire and fuel your resolve. Alas, over time you realised that the so-called fire and fuel started to burn out by the end of January? Maybe you were once excitedly thinking of how great a new year was going to be, but at the end of the year, it felt much like every other year, with no particular greatness to write home about?

Or, are you caught somewhere inbetween both beliefs? Cautiously optimistic maybe? Excited but uncertain? Weary but willing to give it a go anyway?

The truth is, I’m not sure I, or anyone except God, can tell you exactly what is going to happen this year. I cannot tell if this will be your year of abundant prosperity or greatness (as defined by the world) or any such thing.

In fact, when praying about this year, the message I felt God giving me was not so much a promise, but a desire that I do a particular thing. I have since been reading some scriptures relating to it. However, I will hold off on sharing more for now. That is, until I’ve reflected and prayerfully determined how I can be intentional in further cultivating the trait that God is asking me to demonstrate. And hopefully seeing some progress! In the meantime, I will also be asking some important people to hold me accountable, as that is one of the most effective ways to make sure I remain on track. Because utimately even prophecies and declarations require some level of personal effort to materialise.

That said, although I cannot tell you what this year holds, I can tell you that God holds this year. God has our times and seasons in His hands (Psalm 31:15, Daniel 2:21, Acts 1:7). Knowing this is truly reassuring.

I cannot tell if this will be your year of “supernatural speed”, because speed may not necessarily be a good thing for you this year. Sometimes speed even kills. There are times when God may want us to act quickly (Exodus 12:11, 1 Samuel 30:8) and there are times when haste isn’t wise (Proverbs 19:2, 21:5). There are even times God may just want us to be still! (Psalm 46:10). Only God can tell you whether to act swiftly or slowly, or whether any delays you are experiencing are from Him or the evil one. Praying and listening to Him is the way to find out. Sometimes, it may feel like God is too slow, but 2 Peter 3:9 reassures us that He isn’t. This verse includes the phrase “as some count slowness”. Other translations state ‘as some understand, esteem, or imagine slowness’. Which means that how God determines speed may not tally with our own definition. In Genesis 8:3, God made the waters recede slowly, because who knows what further damage would have occurred if He didn’t do it that way? Remember Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” We are to set our watches using God’s time, rather than expect Him to set His watch using our time. When we trust God’s timing and speed, we will be at peace.

I cannot tell whether you will be a millionaire or a billionaire this year, but I can tell you that God will provide for your needs (Matthew 6:7-8, 28-34). (Also note the word needs, not wants). It is worth noting that it can be dangerous to receive more prosperity than our capacity and character can carry. It is good to pray for water, but if you want to pray for a flood, it is wise to be sure you can swim well first.

I cannot promise you won’t face any challenges this year, but by the authority of scripture, I can tell you that God will be with you in the midst of those challenges, and He will comfort you and rescue you (Isaiah 43:2, Hebrews 13:5, Psalm 34:19, 22, 2 Timothy 4:18). Remember Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Did you notice that the Son of God first joined them in the fire before He rescued them? (Daniel 3:16-28). Look out for God in the midst of any challenges you might face, and you will see Him. Even if you feel like you can’t see Him, if you face them with the consciousness of His presence and complete trust in Him, others will see the glory of His presence in your life. Remember that it wasn’t even Shadrach and Co that saw the Son of God in the furnace with them, it was King Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king, an unbeliever. Although reading verse 28, you can see that he became a believer sharply!

At the end of the day, as Proverbs 16:9 (NLT) says, “we can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.” And in the words of Proverbs 19:21 (NKJV), “There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand.” Or as the CEV simply puts it, “We may make a lot of plans, but the LORD will do what he has decided.” This doesn’t mean we should not plan. Far from it. It means we make our plans in the place of prayer, with God at the very centre. Proverbs 1:25-26 (NLT) says, “You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered. So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you.” We definitely don’t want to be one of those people God is laughing at or calling a fool, simply because of the plans we are making (Psalm 2:4, 37:12-13, 59:8; Luke 12:20). Rather we want to be the ones God laughs with, the ones He rejoices over! (Genesis 21:6, Zephaniah 3:17). How do we do that? By abiding, remaining, dwelling initimately with God (John 15), demonstrated through faith and obedience to His will (Hebrews 11).

I pray that this year, our desire above all else will be to be intimate with God, and to let Him work in us and through us. May we be part of a people that are living out the powerful prayer for God’s will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. In doing so, may we enable those around us to have a taste of what Heaven will be like, right here on Earth, and to see Jesus in us and around us. Here’s wishing you a blessed 2024, with many, many tastes of God’s goodness, and of Heaven on Earth!

Image source here.