By Pastor Joseph Green

Ephesians 1:  ¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:  ²Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  ³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:  ⁴According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  ⁵Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,  6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved………….

⁹ Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:……….. ¹¹In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.

As we enter into the New Year I believe that it is a time for us to reflect. The Jews have a concept of looking back with the intent of shaping the future. I believe that is why self-examination and introspection is so very important. The beginning of a year should be a time in which we look over the past year in order to assess where we are going in the upcoming year.

God’s people should understand that they have been created for destiny by God. That destiny has been given to them before the foundation of the world. That means that before God created the world, He created you and I and gave us a specific purpose and calling. He didn’t create you and I as an afterthought, we were created with intentionality and purpose. We are for His pleasure and to fulfill His will.

Jeremiah 1:5 before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee

Once I received the revelation of why we were created I understood how important I am to God. God didn’t make the world and then get bored and then create me. He created me and you first and then everything else came afterward. My soul was with God in eternity, it was my body that arrived much later.

You may ask what does that have to do with talking about the New Year? Most people are looking to make a new year’s resolution at this time of the year. We are hoping to vow to do something that will make our life better. Lose weight, save money, learn another language, start a business. These are some of the many things that we promise to do in the New Year. Some of these vows we keep, some we don’t.

I am charging you this year to seek God and His will for your life. Instead of setting your own agenda what if you asked the Lord to reveal what He would have you to do this year? There are specific things that God created us to do and based on what the Bible says His will for us is better than what we think it should be. Because God designed us and knew us in eternity, I believe that His will for our life is better than the one we can come up with. Part of our demonstration of the faith we have in Jesus is to let His will guide and shape us. When we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts then we get the overwhelming peace of God for our lives. We also are guaranteed to live a successful and fulfilling life.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

The primary question that we should all be asking is: “Jesus, what is your perfect will for my life?” I promise you the answer is better than you can ever imagine!