What will your 2019 be like?

​You might have plans and expectations for this new year, but there’s no​ real way of knowing what it holds or what it will be like. Entering into 2019 I’ve noticed that faith is a predominant theme; not only in my life; but also in the lives of many of my friends and family.  

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​I have friends who’ve started their own businesses; trusting God to come through. Some of my friends have set out to complete challenges fully relying on His strength. Personally, I’m trusting that God will show the way.
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A familiar verse I’m planning to make part of my life this year is found in Proverbs 3:5-6:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
​in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

​So what does this look like? How can you prepare yourself for a faith-filled year?

​Let’s start with prayer 

If you’re going to submit this year to God, prayer is always a good place to start. It’s so easy to only ask for God’s help when we need it; instead of seeking His way right from the start.

Proverbs 3:5-6 teaches us that we are to trust God with our heart, understanding and in all our ways. I happen to think this a beautiful example of trusting God with every part of your being - your spirit, soul and physical body.  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
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Our hearts are the place where our dreams and desires are born. Trusting God with your heart means sitting down with Him to discover His dreams and desires for you.

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:

​Once we take delight in the Lord His desires become our desires. He doesn’t promise to give us any and all of our fleshly desires, but those born out of a place of intimacy with Him. 

​Lean not on your own understanding 

​This is something you should know about God’s dreams and desires – they usually don’t make sense. His dreams are usually too big for you to achieve them on your own. 

​Denying your own understanding requires faith – This means not using logic to downplay or give up on your dreams, but to continue trusting God. 

"His dreams are usually too big for you to achieve them on your own." 

​It’s important to continually focus on His understanding and not your own. A great way of doing this is finding a Scripture or Bible story especially relating to your situation. This can be anything from Philippians 4:13 to David facing Goliath. Scripture gives us a glimpse of God’s character. He is reliable, trust-worthy and always faithful!

In all your ways submit to Him
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This is where things get practical. God doesn’t simply ask of us to believe big dreams, He asks us to go out and represent Him in the world (2 Corinthians 5:20).

And even there, in making plans and walking them out, we can depend on His council.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” – Proverbs 16:9

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And He will make your paths straight

The last part of the Scripture ends off with a promise.

My friends, a straight path does not necessarily mean a path on which there is no failure or challenges. We don’t trust God in order to receive His goodness, we trust Him in being vessels thereof. 

"We don’t trust God in order to receive His goodness, we trust Him in being vessels thereof." 

​A straight path is a path where you can experience God’s blessing and goodness, in spite of the difficulties you might be facing. It’s a path where you are not alone, because you’re walking hand in hand with Him; straight towards His plan and purpose for your life.

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