It is a New Year, 2022. We are all excited to see the new year. Nonetheless, every new year that God gives us on this earth is filled with renewed hope and promises. A new year is full of new opportunities in our own lives. It is an opportunity for opening new doors, new hopes and overall new blessings. However, life also has its myriad of challenges, frustrations and disappointments. In all these, God’s small still voice gives us directions.
Isaiah 30:21: Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Every new year begins with a renewed sense of hope, and expectations for a better brighter future. Rarely do we include spiritual aspects in our new year resolutions and yet it is essential to include God in our plans. We always start a new year by thinking about newness and by making great plans about our family, business, work, travel, entertainment and recreation. We also make several resolutions for the year that we strive to fulfil in the course of the year. Most of the resolutions are based on areas and aspects that we feel we did not do as well the previous year, or can come from new ideas that we would wish to venture into. They include objectives and goals to achieve our aims, vision and mission. For example, as Christians, there is need to honour the Sabbath, spend more time reading God’s word, being consistent in prayers, being witnesses of God’s word, opening a new business or bank (savings) account, faithfully giving offerings and tithes, improving our attitude towards people, events or things, joining college, starting a new relationship and settling down, the list is endless. This becomes possible only if God leads and we are determined to follow His counsel.
The Book of Isaiah is a call by God to the Nation of Judah to go back to God and tell of God’s salvation. In Isaiah 30: 21, God declares His commitment to guide the children of Israel. God is faithful and submits that there is a calm and still voice that they will hear from behind giving guidance on the way they should go, so as not to lose direction. Listening and obeying God’s word and voice is both pleasant and profitable, right and redeeming. This is the essence of God’s voice in our lives.
Our God has committed this new year to guide us. So, when God says that “you will hear a voice,” it means that we need to develop the capacity to hear and discern God’s words. This should be the first training for every one of us in this new year so that when God speaks to us, we will be ready and willing to listen and adhere to His voice. Secondly, there is the assurance that God will speak to us from behind to give us direction, we will then be receptive and ready to adhere and respond accordingly to his voice. In all these, God’s voice guides, directs, counsels, warns and gives insight to His people, and we are God’s children.
God walking with you through Adversity
We live in a polarised World polluted with so many things. The destructive rather than the constructive nature of our World makes certain voices and noises more appealing, such as movies, television programmes, books, friends, events, foods, leisure and entertainment and other actions and other things. Therefore, listening and hearing the voice of God must be a deliberate and personal decision. To improve on our hearing capacity, we must decide on several things including being prayerful, meditating on the word of God, fasting, listening to sermons and listening to Godly music and watching appropriate programmes.
Prayer and fasting in particular arouse sensitivity to God’s voice in a very noisy, polluted and chaotic world. Through prayers, we share our feelings, thoughts, requests, fears and other concerns with God. When we spend time in prayer and meditation, we listen and hear from God. In addition, this make space for the Holy Spirit of God in our hearts that in turn guides our steps and eventually transforms our hearts and lives. Fasting too is essential for Christians’ walk of faith and it is also highly recommended as it helps us to have a more in-depth and intimate relationship with God. This is what we earnestly need in the new year and in our dear lives.
The voice of God comes through His word too. This calls for us to continuously read the Bible so that we can find God’s purpose in our lives. God’s word in the Bible directs us to several things, events and actions. Listening to God’s word and voice may come through the urge of conscience, inspiration and conduct of divine guidance. This has been revealed to us through Christ. Therefore, it is in Christ the greatest teacher’s class that we need to attend, so that Christ can reveal God’s promises for us in our lives and more so, this new year. This is because God’s word and voice direct all aspects of our lives.
God continuously instructs us to be attentive in the spirit, be obedient to God’s voice and train our spiritual hearing capacity so as to enjoy the promises that God has for us in our lives, including this year and the future. Make it a priority in 2022 to train yourself to hear God’s voice and be deliberate in obeying it.
May the Lord keep you. May the Lord watch over. May the Lord give you peace. May the Lord pour immense blessings upon you now and always. Amen.
