KEEP ON MOVING

“A new year is a time to get your options clear and to make a significant decision to do what it is that makes you really happy. The real issue here is that you must take each day as a new opportunity to keep moving towards what you want!” — Unknown

This month of January is usually the first month of the year for us and a time to celebrate God’s great love and faithfulness. (Exodus 12:2). So let’s keep going and press on to greater heights. Let us start all over again. It is never too late to begin anew. Every day is an opportunity to initiate new things.   “Keep desiring to press on despite past difficulties or obstacles. You cannot get better things until you do better things. So no matter how the year 2019 has been, press on from where you are and from what you have achieved to the next level” – ODM. Bishop Chris Kwakpovwe, ODM added, “Paul said: ‘I press on’ Do the same, for until you press, you cannot impress your generation!” Therefore no stopping, no holding and no stagnation, just keep moving on!!! In this ocean called world, it continues to move on. Like life fish we got to swim against the current otherwise the current will carry us down. The challenge of this time of New Beginning, New Year is to keep moving on. “If you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are.  For where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained.  Keep adding, keep walking, and keep advancing.” – Saint Augustine

Unfortunately, we live in our new age of anxiety, hurries and worries. Our anticipation for the New Year is high but our preparedness and work is low. We seem to live in yesterday’s dreams that fail but desire to move into tomorrow aspirations.  We may have done the same thing the same way severally and obtain the same results.  You may still be getting ready to do it same way again. The time for change has come and it must begin now, with you. You got to find way to change the things that don’t work. “You either change things for better or they change you for the worst” – ODM. “As I look back on my life, I realized that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better” – Anonymous.

People live their lives on what they can get; if they can’t get from you, you are neither relevant nor part of them. They are quick to use and drop you like pack of wood. Not only the commoner’s act that way; even leaders: corporate heads, community and religious leaders talk about change but remain complacent to its principles. They seem to do the talking but fail in the doing.  They are quick to point accusing fingers on others for what they fail to do but nothing to them. They engage in blame game and assume corrector’s role. Little wonder people worry and become anxious about life today and what the future holds. They don’t know who to trust or rely on.  “Worry has become part of our national culture and seems to be an epidemic in the world in which we live in” – Ray Pritchard. “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” – Oprah Winfrey

These are a few on the list of our worries:  According to Morrow Cater, the president of the bipartisan consulting firm Cater Communications, “If you look at the right-hand side of the aisle, and the left, they’re each talking about the things they fear the most.”

• The consequences of climate change
• The Possibility of global change
• The continuous troubles in middle East
• Fears of Islamic fundamentalism
• Political tension in our nation’s new leadership
• Leadership failures in our corporate Institutions and society as well as in religious bodies.
• Crumbling of marriage idles in western world and the multiplying effect on the developing nations
• Global wars
• Insecurities nation-wide especially the shootings and killings in our cities and around the globe
• Financial mis-appropriation and healthcare blunders especially relating to the elderly and fate of retirees
• World economy teetering on the brink of collapse and
• The coming of a New Year & unknown future

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better man. – Benjamin Franklin

The coming of New year/New era brings with it anxiety and worries of unknown future. It is a time of hope and anticipation as well as ambition; time to dream and aspire for better future. Behind it, is the feeling of shaky and uncertainty. At this time, many people feel very uneasy about the road ahead or way forward. “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward”- Martin Luther King Jr. Can you blame anyone for feeling a bit concern and worried right now because of the state of the world as fear grips many hearts around the world?  According to John Raulerson, writing on Do Not worry, “Worry means unbelief – we do not believe that God can look after the practical details of our lives.”  Worry is not only destructive but also futile. “People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.” ~ George Bernard Shaw.

Jesus had foreseen these state of concern and admonished in Matthew 6:34 “Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  Apostle Paul advised in Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything………” Pastor John Haggai defines worry as “Anxiety over the future that dominates the present.” Our Father in heaven knows our challenges and got our back, whether we believe it or not.  He considers us more important than birds and flowers (Matt 6 vs. 26). He warns, “Do not worry about your life and what you will eat or drink, about your body or what you shall wear….” Vs 27 say, “Can you add even one hour to your life by worrying? Most of the things we worry about never happen. According to Scott Woodruff, the director of the anxiety and obsessive-compulsive treatment program at the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, “The anxious mind and the worried mind can manage to bring back topics over and over again.” Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties. – Helen Keller.

Reasons not to worry (worry is counterproductive)

• It causes stress to your health and nervous breakdown
• It affects the circulation, the heart, the glands and the world nervous system
• It wastes time that could be spent wisely on other ways
• It focuses on the problem instead of the solution
• It makes us assume the responsibility that belongs only to God
• It paralyzes us with fear; direct opposition to the fruit of the spirit
• It saps our joy
• It drains our energy
• It sidetracks us from doing God’s will
• It could result into day dreaming and careless speaking
• Your Heavenly Father knows all your needs and shall meet them (vs. 32)
• Jesus Christ commands us not to worry and therefore worry is sin (Matt 6:25)
• Worry is the sin of distrusting the promise and providence of God.
• Worry can change neither our past nor our future but can ruin the present.
• Worry kills our motivation to make progress
• “Excessive worry can lead to fatigue, lack of concentration, and muscle tightness”
• Renee Lertzman suspects, “When we’re anxious and we’re scared, we want others to feel it too. It’s contagious.”
• Scott Woodruff said, “It is possible that people can really spend quite an amount of time every day worrying about world events.”

Furthermore, “The problem with worrying is that you worry so much you end up doing nothing. This may even bring about the very thing that you’ve been worrying about! Or you may even end up in a worse situation because worrying has caused you to make the wrong decision. Fretting can be completely counterproductive, so don’t let it take over”.- Allwomenstalk “According to John Kehoe @ Learn Mind Power, “Worry is always negative and counterproductive; and believe it or not, you can eliminate worry from your mind…. “

10     Reasons to Keep Moving Forward: Dr. Barton Goldsmith, a psychotherapist, a syndicated columnist and an international keynote speaker adduced   reasons to keep moving: Staying on course can be challenging when life throws a sucker punch at you. Here are some tools to help you get to where you want to go and shake off what has held you back:

• Don’t give up. …
• Take it one day at a time. …
• Love and prosperity can come in a New York minute, so be ready. …
• Stay positive. …
• Go at your own pace, but don’t stop moving forward. …
• Remember, it’s not a race. …
• Even making a little progress can go a long way. …
• Recognize that what you are going through now is not permanent.
• Think about your thinking.
• Learn to deal with disappointment.

Dr Goldsmith added, “Don’t let life throw you off-track. Take the time you need to refocus and gain some clarity. You will be well prepared for your next adventure.”

“Times will change for the better when you change” – Maxwell Maltz.  “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right” – Oprah Winfrey.                                                          

  ENJOY A FRUITFUL NEW YEAR.