Carol J German

God is calling each of us. We are to be listening and answering Him by making the necessary changes that He is asking of us. We are to be done with “trying”, which is in our own efforts, and begin to embrace change. Here is where God meets us in all His fullness. Here is where we will hear His voice.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Any “trying” that we do is of our flesh and we know that our flesh is selfish and undisciplined. Think about new year’s resolutions; many are not kept. We mean well but we just can’t seem to keep the momentum going.

This is why when we look up at God and look down in His Word, He leads us to a place of change. Our hearts need a transplant. Our minds need to be renewed. Our souls need to come alive. Without the Trinity and the Bible, we are hopeless to walk in His ways. Our flesh will dictate every single time. This is why we need Jesus in the morning, at noon and into our evenings. We need Him with every breath we take. We are not meant to live without Him.

Oh, how our world says we don’t need Jesus. Our world is under the influence of God’s archenemy, Satan. His lies are simple and numerous, have fun, enjoy yourself, just do it, it’s your life, money and rights, you are in control. Satan loves to lie to our flesh. He is relentless in getting us to keep our eyes on ourselves so we live for the world instead of God.

Let’s make 2020 the year of change. We are going to need to be brave and to trust, really trust. We really don’t have a choice when we know what were up against. We can’t remain blasé anymore. We have become so indifferent or unimpressed with religious things that we have become numb to the Holy Spirit and how He wants to lead each of us personally.

We need to calculate the cost of remaining blasé. Do an inventory of your life. Start with your relationships because that is what’s important to God. Do you question that? If you do, then look in the mirror. No matter how bruised you are by either circumstances or others, God loves you! This is a fact that will never change!

Then seek God in His Word. There, God will lead you to many revelations and Jesus will meet you with forgiveness, understanding, unconditional love and amazing grace! He will take you by the hand and lead you forward into all that He has for you. He will change you from the inside out and His changes within you will lead to deeper relationships with others.

Change. It can be a good thing. Let’s make 2020 an amazing year by embracing the Lover of our souls. Let’s allow Jesus to change us. Then, and only then, will we be able to say next December, “this has been an incredible year! Thank you Lord!” Our hearts will be content and satisfied and we will live in deep unity with others. It will be a beautiful sight.