Luke 7:13 (KJV)
"And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not"
As we come into this New Year, I believe that it is God's purpose
to quicken all those things that are important to the kingdom of God.
When Jesus saw this woman, her life had been completely devastated by the loss of her son and in a moment He speaks to the dead young man and commands him back to life. God has a way of making things come to life. I have no trouble believing that God has done such things, but I am also daring enough to believe that He still does them. I think it starts in the heart of all of us. We look at our lives and see dreams or visions that we have had thinking what we thought life might bring us may not have come to pass. Yet we know that God can do above all that we can ask or think. He has for us super-abounding Grace for whatever situations we may face. He says in His word, "My grace is sufficient for you; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9). Can you imagine how helpless this woman felt and how hopeless her situation appeared to be? I believe that this will be a year of God's grace in the midst of weaknesses. He will show us that no matter what we have been through, He is more than enough and that He is able to transform our weaknesses into strength.
It is important in this coming year that we understand what we believe about Jesus is powerful. I ask the question, "Do you see what Jesus sees?" All sorts of challenges will come to you that may cause you to back down and back away because you feel that you don't have enough strength for that situation. In this difficult circumstance that Jesus faced, He shows us how we can anchor our thoughts in Him and quiet our emotions because of the unshakable word of God. As I read the word of God, I can clearly see that it contains so many precious promises so that I do not need to try and second guess what God is doing in my life. He wants to line my thoughts up with His thoughts.
Jeremiah 29:11 says
His plan for you is a good one.
He is thinking about you and His thoughts are not about evil; but about peace, hope and a bright future.
As we look at this coming year, it is important for us to know that God has a good plan for our lives. I chose the story from the gospel of Luke because the situation seemed so hopeless,was and yet God, through His son Jesus, was about to change it for that widow woman. I believe that God has been getting us ready to encounter some great things in this coming New Year.
It is time for us to open our hearts and to see His love and interest in us and understand that something special is prepared for us.