Good Things Are Waiting For You

Introduction

I thank God for this time of year and the blessing we have been afforded to meet on the first day of a new year. God is good! Hallelujah!

I prayed and asked the Lord what should be spoken to encourage and provide direction for the new year. As I was praying the Lord spoke to my spirit, “Jacob who wrestled the angel.” Initially, I could not understand what God wanted me to share or how this reflected anything related to the New Year.

Jacob was an interesting character. He was the son of Isaac and the grandson of the patriarch Abraham. He was the descendent of the promise, and before his birth he was given a promise that his older brother would serve him (Genesis 25:23 “23 And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb; two peoples will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”)

Jacob and his brother, Esau were rivals from the beginning. Their conflict caused Jacob to run to Haran where he arrived in Paddan-Aram. Over a period of 20 years, Jacob would spend his life working for two wives (Genesis 29:15-30), building his family (Genesis 29:31-30:24), and building his wealth (Genesis 30:25-43). Yet, he eventually decided he needed to return home.

Though he would get over his fear of Laban, he remained skeptical of whether his brother, Esau would take vengeance on him. It was on his way to Canaan that he arrived in Jabbok where he wrestled with the angel (Genesis 32:22-32). Out of everything Jacob received, he still thought it was necessary to receive a “blessing.” You see, there was nothing Jacob received that could replace the blessing God had prepared for Him since birth (see Genesis 25:27-34- birthright and Genesis 27:1-40- stolen blessing). And this is because the blessings of God cannot be obtained by force, some magic or secret formula. The blessings of God are obtained by those who can responsibly manage the deposit that God grants to them for His glory and purpose.

Here is the word for this year: your blessings will come as you live responsibly in the will of God.

The Secret to a Prosperous Year

As is common around this time of year, we are all considering what this year holds. In previous times, we would speak of the fortunes that await us and how we are destined for success in the new year. However, since COVID-19, we have all been very cautious about our predictions for the new year.

I remember very clearly how at the end of 2018 I had no promising word to give. As I stood before you in our old building on Thurgood Marshall Highway, I stated, “I have no word for you this year.” And as bad as I wanted to deliver a promising message, I had no unction to do so. And I must admit that I have no such unction this year. However, this does not mean the upcoming year will not be anything less than an exceptional year.

I should only suggest that we pray and ask God’s blessings for the upcoming year as we would any other day. In fact, when we search Scripture, there’s no remarkable evidence that the New Year presents new opportunities. One writer stated,

My Favorite Illustrations Opportunities, Hopes, and Dreams

On the last day of the year a celebration is held throughout the land. Beginning at the stroke of midnight in Times Square in New York City, the multitudes cheer, horns sound, whistles blow, and people laugh and cry for joy. Amidst the celebration are the shouts of “Happy New Year!” This spectacle is repeated in succession in the various time zones from the Atlantic Seaboard to the far western reaches of Hawaii. We say, “A New Year has come!” For us a new year symbolizes new opportunities, new hopes, and new dreams.

And yet, the stroke of the hour simply has marked the dawning of another day. Whether the year really will be new lies within each person. If, when the shouting is over, we fall back into the same old rut of sin and rebellion against God, then nothing has changed. No, years become new only if we make them so. Resolutions for new days, new beginnings, opportunities, and dreams are not to be made only in the excitement of the moment; but long after the glamor is gone these resolutions are to become the order of each day.

Just as in the case with Jacob, I suggest that the key to success in the New Year will not come from some new discovery. We can’t hustle our way to God’s blessings! Rather, it will simply come from the faithful obedience that one must do at any other time in the year. For, though the year has changed, what God expects of us has not.

In fact, if anything, the new year should be used to reflect on the failures of the previous year. It should be used to make new commitments to practices we failed to embrace and recommitments to things we knew to embrace but did not. It should used to cast new visions and reach new standards. However, it should not be seen as a away to access something we never had an opportunity to embrace before. Such opportunities don’t exist. Rather, it is our own lack of focus and occasional complacency that leaves us unsuccessful. The new year is all about fresh starts and new attempts at better days.

I want you to be aware of the fact that God has always had the opportunities of 2023 before you in 2022. The key is not in the opportunities but in the actions one takes to access those opportunities. There’s a simple process and formula I want you to embrace in 2023: My obedience to God will grant me every blessing God has prepared for me.

There are three ways in which we are to find all of God’s blessings in 2023:

Fear God (Psalm 34:9)

Trust God (Psalm 34:10)

Do what is right (Psalm 84:11)

Conclusion: Do what is right and there will be no good thing withheld from you!