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Dr Nick Ohizu-The Voice of God
As we approach the end of the year, it is always recommended that we take time to evaluate our accomplishments and plan for the future.
Time is given to us as a currency to exchange whatever we want in life and a year is 12 months interval meant to increase our age and accomplishments.
Most of the regrets people experience come at the end of the year when they look back and begin to feel the pain of having wasted another 12 months without any significant achievement. Those regrets are by-products of wrong or no planning because failing to plan is planning to fail.
We always pray for God’s blessings and most of the time fail to access them because we miss the directives on how he plans to bless us.
The following scripture will help clarify that we should “Ask the Lord to bless your plans, and you will be successful in carrying them out”. [Proverbs 16:3. GNB].
Based on this revelation, it is not enough to ask God to bless us.
We need to have a plan for him to bless.
Now, if someone goes through a year without a plan and keeps bombarding heaven every day for blessings, chances are there will be no answers because the processes of receiving the blessings are not met.
God will not just bless you, he needs to see your plans. The Government will not spend without a budget every year.
In the same way, heaven will not spend without the recipients of such blessings presenting God with a plan of what they want to achieve.
The success of a plan is dependent on the blessings of God so planning is not enough. The plan must be blessed for us to successfully carry them out. The success of a year revolves around planning.
Planning is incomplete without the financial aspect. The reason this message is coming now is because November is a bonus month.
It is a time when we receive that extra payment of the year. If planning is ignored or wrongly implemented, it will result in low or no accomplishments at the end.
The reason is that a lot of people have never seen planning as a divine instruction or consider it as a spiritual thing. God is very much interested in the way we live our lives and wishes that we prosper and be in good health [3 John 1:2].
Some of the challenges we face are as a result of no planning and these problems end up affecting our spiritual lives. God wants us to end our year with joy not regret and for us to achieve that, we need to understand the three levels of planning that will ensure a successful year and leave us with less regret.
It is of benefit that we take time to understand these levels as we begin to implement.
Planning your financial year
It is expedient that we start with the aspect of planning financially because the most common problem on earth is money.
We can all agree that after Christmas comes the new year and then people begin to experience what is popularly known as January disease.
I believe that there is no disease called January for humans but what is known as January disease are the consequences of entering the festive season without firstly putting a financial and spending pattern in place. A lot of people get their 13th cheque and spend during the festive season with careless abandon.
The voice of God is warning us before the festive season to put our Christmas planning in place before we start spending. This plan should entail what we intend to do with the excesses that will come into our hands whether as a bonus cheque or profit from increase of sales that businesses normally experience towards the end of the year.
Avoiding this January disease starts with investing more than we spend. It is always advisable to give our money an assignment before it arrives. In so doing, you will put some money away in assets or investments that will yield dividends in due time.
If possible, find a new business to start with your bonus and probably by the middle of next year, you will be reaping the profits.
Most people spend their bonuses because more money has a tendency of increasing the spending pattern running in the mind.
The next step is to plan your spending.
Start with itemising your reoccurring expenditure like rent, school fees, parental support and utilities. The best way to avoid the financial pressure of the new year is to pay these bills in December.
Your school will not reject your payment of January fees now, neither will your landlord, service providers or city authorities reject any advance payment that you choose to make before the festive seasons. Then place before your family a budget of how and where you intend to spend the festive season.
I always advise that you operate within the limits of your affordability rather than inordinate excitement to impress. Allocate funds to each individual for their gifts and shopping and let them control themselves. Allowing people to shop and you pay will always end up in overspending.
Finally, set a date of return. Never go for holidays without setting a day to return as this will curb the tendency to overstay, especially when you have travelled to a very nice place. To be continued . . .
Dr Nick Ohizu is the senior pastor of The Empowerment Ministries and the president of the Empowerment School of Wealth both located in Graniteside Harare. He is a successful entrepreneur with vast experience in leadership, mentorship, business and marriage consultancy with a mandate from God to change lives and bless people. Feedback: 0772304917.
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