Prepare for the New Year – EP13
Psalms 107:1
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
Hello, and welcome back to the One Thing Podcast. Here we are, coming into the new year. That’s right, at the end of the week it will no longer be 2017, it will be 2018.
So, what’s going through our minds right now? I know some of us can be thinking, “How can I prepare for the new year?” The world may be cleaning their houses. They may be cleaning out their cars and old files and dressers, and all that good stuff, which is okay, in hopes of preparing to start the new year clean.
But, we as believers—we’re looking to come forth as the pure vessels that God can use for His glory. So, how do we prepare? What do we pray for? What do we ask of God?
This is the verse that had come to mind as I was really thinking about these things, and it’s Psalm 107:1. It says,
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.” I’m going to say it again, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.”
"...recognize what God has done today."You know, there are a lot of things that God is going to be doing this new year. There are a lot of things that we can be praying for, really be asking for, even. But I think that the main thing—before we can step ahead, before we can really make another move—the most important thing is to already recognize what God has done today.
Even throughout this past year, whether it was a really good year or a really bad year, to still yet stop and say, “Thank you, Father, for you have been good to me. I am alive today. I am able to eat food. I am able to drive a car that’s working. I have a home that is warm.” And the list can go on and on of all the good things God has provided and done in our lives—the greatest thing of all, His Son, the Lord Jesus.
Thank you, God, that right now we have the precious love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"...you have come and you have made a way for your people..."So, how are we going to prepare for this new year? What is 2018 going to open up with for us? It is, “Thank you, Father, for you have come and you have made a way for your people, and you are going to glorify your name as never before! But even beyond that, God, thank you for what you’ve done already in my life! Thank you" As I look around -as you’re driving in your car, look around for a moment. As you’re at home, as you’re with your children, just stop and look around at what God has done in your life. We so easily sit and remember what we don’t have, or we try to think of what we’ve never received in our life, but let’s stop and think of what we received from God already.
And as we come into this new year, come in with a heart thankful for who God is and everything that He’s done in our lives, and again most of all, for the true greatest gift, for the greatest thing that God has ever brought into our lives, His Son, the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise God as we prepare, and may we give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!”