Be Prepared

At the close of 2013, I found myself reviewing previous posts on this blog and in the process discovered that I wrote two blog posts with exactly the same title: "And It Came To Pass." The first was on the 6th of December, 2012 and the second a year later, on the 20th of December, 2013. 

Reading these post over again gave me great assurance and confidence that God is a covenant keeping and promise fulfilling God. And I can rest secured in His unfailing love in 2014.

As we begin 2014, I am pregnant with hope and full of great expectations for the year. It is a year of accomplishing and celebrating many key milestones within my nuclear and extended family: 10th and 21st wedding anniversaries, 20th, 50th, 70th and 75th birthdays. It is a year of seeing the manifestation of answers to prayers. And of the fulfillment of dreams and desires.

We have great expectations and outlook for 2014, being persuaded as a family that we will celebrate growth, expansion, promotions and see the Lord expand our coast beyond our wildest imagination. We receive from God the grace to do great exploits for Him and for the Kingdom this year. And we will enter into the doors of opportunities He will open to us.

Physically, at this point in time, we are at the position where like Mary, we can only say "How can this be since ….?" (Luke 1:34). Like Abraham, we also say, "Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?” (Gen 15:8). And like Zechariah, the question is “How can I be sure of this?” (Luke 1:18). How shall it possibly come to pass, all these dreams, visions and heart desires? By what shall we know that we shall accomplish these great things? Humanly speaking, it is mind-boggling just to consider the enormity of God’s promises to us and our dreams and desires.

Our hope and assurance is anchored on the unfailing promises of God. It premised on the experience we have in seeing God fulfill His Word in our lives. If we go by all He did for us in 2013, we have very strong reasons to rest and rely on Him to accomplish all He promises for us in 2014 and all our righteous desires anchored on His promises.

We know for a truth and by experience that God is a covenant keeping God. He will not go back on His Word. He will not renege on His promises. Faithful is He Who has promised, at the appointed time, He will do just what He said He will do. This is a non-negotiable and solid truth that we can go to bank with!

Given this hope and assurance, we can begin to prepare to possess our possessions as we step into 2014. Right from day one, we prepare like an expectant mother for the birth of what we have conceived by faith in God.

What are we preparing for and how?

Be prepared to depend on God’s strength and grace:

It is by the grace and enablement of God that we will be able to do great exploits in 2014 because the race is not to the swift.

"I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time" - Eccles 9:11 (NLT).

It is not by power or by might. But it shall be by the abounding grace of God so that He only can take all the glory. We cannot depend on our own strength or skills or hard work but trust and depend on the grace and strength of God. For it is the Lord Who gives us the ability to make wealth and to be successful. He does this so that He may accomplish the covenant which He swore to our fathers of old (Deut. 8:18). It is by the wisdom He gives that we will do the extraordinary. We must with all our might use all the opportunities God provides for us.

Be prepared to do your part:

"Make this valley full of ditches...."(2Kings 3:16), that’s what Elisha said to Jehoshaphat and the two Kings with him. They needed water and victory in the battle they were about to embark on against the King of Moab. To try their faith and obedience, Elisha commanded them to make the valley full of pits to receive water. You have an action to take in anticipation of God’s intervention—prepare to receive the miracle. So they dug the ditches. We have a part to play for us to see the accomplishment of God's promise in our lives. This requires that we listen attentively to God and follow His leading and instruction. We are not to sit idle with our hands crossed across our chests. Those who expect God's blessings, must dig pools for the rain to fill. Not only did they receive the water through God’s intervention, the same valley flowing with water was used to bring them victory over the Moabities.

During our family Bible Study time recently, we shared many examples of such obedient following of God’s instructions in preparation to receive the victory, deliverance and provision God has promised. The felling of the walls of Jericho and the provision for the dead Prophet’s wife and children are some of these examples.

Dear Friends, whatever you are trusting and looking up to God for in 2014, it is a light thing for God to do. So be prepared to receive them. Be prepared to walk in the fullness of God’s purpose and counsel for your lives. I know from my experience of God and from the Bible that if God has given you His Word, the sequel to the story of your life can only be: "and it came to pass."

I will continue this blog post next week, so watch out for Part 2.

I pray that God will bless you with abounding grace to do great exploits for His Kingdom in 2014.

Happy New Year to you and your family.