A YEAR OF DIFFICULT CHALLENGES
It’s a new dawn. I bring to you all a very special greeting of the New Year. A greeting of love, favor, compensation and establishment I say to you, “Rejoice, you are highly favored, the Lord is with you………..” [Luke 1:28]. This salutation brings an uncommon surprise. May the year 2009 be fruitful and bring you uncommon surprises, with great accomplishment. You shall prosper, multiply and enjoy good pleasure of the Lord. We say thank God for a New Year, New Beginning and New Season. He who has brought us in shall see us through. Do not be afraid, for the Lord is our strength, defense and sufficiency. As we begin the year, we should remember that the God of heaven is our God. He says, “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed, neither be disgraced for you will not be put to shame. You will forget the shame of your youth and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore….for a mere moment I have forsaken you but with great mercies, I will gather you.” [Isaiah 54: 4, 7].
It is easy to forget the past and the uncountable goodness of the Lord. We seem to remember the unanswered prayers, the thing God did not do for us more than those He did. We remember the difficult moments we passed through but forget God’s surpassing grace and mercies as well as His sufficiency in our trails. We remember those who offended us and forget those we offended; remember the few moments we were turned down but forget the numerous times of pre-approvals and the many people God put on our ways to help us. Little surprised King Solomon in his prayers of dedication of the temple said, “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His promises [1 Kings 8:56].
Since we know that we have a God who never disappointed or failed, we should build our confidence in and around Him and His promises. He never failed yesterday and shall not fail today or ‘morrow. It’s a time for us to appreciate and trust God because the more assurance of His promised fulfilled, the more we should be ready to give our lives embodied in our time, talent and treasure [3T’s]. This then should be our year of responsibility, accountability and restoration. It’s a year of great change and difficult challenges. The children of Israel never forgot their deliverance from the Egyptian slave masters. They remembered that no man could have delivered them except for Jehovah-God. Throughout their wilderness journey, He led and guided, supplied their needs and protected them; intervened mightily in Red sea and Jordan and performed uncommon miracles that have become part of Israel’s history and experience with God.
As we enter into the New Year, we should never forget where the Lord God picked us from; how He has led us in His great hands from year to year and not one of His promises had ever failed. Even when we have disappointed Him severally, His compassion has never failed but is renewed every morning. It is a time we rededicate ourselves to the ideals of God and worship Him with the whole of our hearts, giving Him our all. He died for us on the cross so that we do not have to die, but live and fulfill His purpose for us; He deserves our all. No one can sincerely give to God anything without first giving self, less its hypocrisy. Let us therefore be responsible, accountable and steadfast; exercising integrity of heart and uprightness, to God and humanity. As we go through the year, the winds may be strong and terrible and the storms furious but faith in God will see us through the stormy sea of change.
In this year of difficult challenges, the American Nation swore in the first African American President on January 20, 2009. It’s a new era in human history, that the White House job shall be performed by nonwhite; in the midst of two wars, failed in global economy and in government sensitivity to the people. We shall witness a change not only in the presidency but in the way we respond to our challenges, using common sense above book knowledge, in our judgments and in pursuing our goals as well as in conquering our fears and that of the world around us.
We are called to believe in ourselves as God’s people and a nation of opportunities. We are responsible and accountable to live and raise our children in basic family values; respect for ourselves and all mankind. We must believe in hard work to achieve collective progress and care for our families, the smallest units of the nation; where love and discipline are balanced. Human dignity should be held in high esteem. We must learn to do for ourselves those things we can do while the government does what we cannot do for ourselves. By so doing we do not only have a responsible government but also a responsible people. The path shall be a tough one but the pursuit is worth the pains. We shall serve ourselves and nation not only on easy path but when we face challenges; for great challenges bring great victories. Most importantly, we must place God not only as our number one but our compass; this immortal, invisible God is ever present and beyond our comprehension. In the most difficult moment, His grace is sufficient to us and this shall see us through our most difficult times. Have a great year.
Reach: Evangelist Ogbonnaya, Godswill at: weefreeministries@yahoo.com or P. o. Box 720035, Houston, Texas, 77272.