Today I am sharing my last message of 2018. After today I am going on vacation and I will spend the next couple of weeks taking a break and praying about 2019. At this time last year I remember sharing my heart with you. I told you how tough 2017 was for many people. Personally, in 2017 my wife and I had to endure some of the most difficult times of our lives. At the end of 2017 I sensed the Lord say that we (and not just us, but people all over the Body of Christ) had sown many seeds and 2018 was a time for us to experience a harvest on the seeds sown. The Word the Lord gave me for 2018 was that it was to be a “Year of Expectation.” All year long I have been teaching you to raise your expectations to receive divine harvest. Now, at the end of the year, I can testify that 2018 has been an amazing year of harvest for us personally, and we have also heard testimonies of harvest around the globe.
As I close out this year I feel led to do so with an attitude of thanksgiving. I sense that in 2019 the Lord will expand on the momentum the Body of Christ is experiencing and we must remember to say, “THANK YOU!”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. The Lord made plans for you before the world began. Along with those plans, God already stored up your provision. Everything you will ever need to bring those plans to pass is already prepared for you. As you walk with God and walk out His vision, He will reveal to you how to access the provision He already prepared in order to bring it to pass.
2. While God’s grand plan for our lives is already done, in heaven. He is looking for us to live out the plan down here, in the earth. In heaven there is no time. Heaven operates in eternity. So in heaven, everything is already done. Down here, in the earth, we operate within the chronology and continuum of time. This means that we have to live out God’s plan in increments of days, weeks and years. Because humans are finite and our capacity is limited (compared to God), God reveals His plans to us in increments. Most humans attempts to digest, process and prepare for those increments in year-long segments. This is why year-markers provide us good opportunities to make annual assessment, course corrections, and new plans for the new year. There is nothing wrong with this, just as long as the goal is to get to God’s overall expected end for our lives.
3. As we end this year and prepare for the next, this is a good time to slow down, look back, and say, “THANK YOU” to God. If this year was a great year for you, like it was for many, then you have lots to be thankful for. If this year was a challenging year for you, you can still thank God for His grace. You are still here, you are still breathing, there is blood still flowing through your veins, and you have a chance to enjoy another year of life. So whether the year was enjoyable or challenging, it is still a good time to give God praise for blessing you to see another one. And the thanksgiving on your lips will help you open your heart to God’s best in 2019.
So let’s make a declaration of thanksgiving to the Lord our God!
Closing Confession:
Father, this year has been a Year of expectation for me. I opened my heart to Your best and You exceeded my expectations. You are a good, good Father. You love me with an everlasting love. You bless me well beyond my performance. You called me for such a time as this. You use me for Your glory. You protect me from all harm. You bring me before great men and women. You then move on their hearts and they wind up using their power, ability, influence and money to help me in ways I could not help myself. Father, this morning, as I seek to close out 2018 strong and enter 2019 with my heart open to Your best, I simply want to say, THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR BEING MY LORD, MY GOD, MY KING, and MY FATHER! I enter this day and every day with thanksgiving on my lips, with a song in my heart, and with a smile on my face! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
