The year of discernment

Pastor Tinashe Zinyemba The Christian Youth —
HAPPY new year. May 2017 be the best year of your life ever. We must commit all of our plans and goals for the year to the Lord, asking Him to bless our endeavours be it in our studies, careers, businesses and relationships.

Whatever the case, let’s be prayerful and commit all to the Lord.

The beginning of the year is like a new chapter that has opened before you. It is like a fresh start. In 1Kings 3, Solomon has just been appointed king of Israel. He is not sure what the future has in store for him or the nation.

That could be you today. You have no idea what the year has for you.

There are many factors that are out of our control. Solomon prays in 1Kings 3:9, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad …”

Solomon asks God to give him discernment. That should be your prayer today. The year will be filled with many new and exciting things. Not all of them will be good for you and not all of them will be bad either.

I pray that God will grant you discernment so you will be able to capitalise on opportunities that come your way, so that you can make the right decisions at the right time, so that you can be able to see the wolves that come in sheep’s skin.

Discernment will help you choose your friends and the relationships that you should either terminate or enter into. I pray that discernment will be your portion this year.

And then there was Moses. He had the humongous task of taking the children of Israel from Egypt into the promised land. In a time of prayer, he had an interesting conversation with God in Exodus 33. Moses says in Exodus 33:13-15, “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him; If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.”

Moses quite blatantly told God that if He did not go with him, then Moses would quit there and then. That was pretty bold of Moses to make such a demand from God. However, I think Moses fully understood that if he was to do anything without God, then it was bound to fail one way or the other.

Take time to ask God to lead you this year. Before you enter that relationship, ask God to go before you. Before you sit for that exam, ask God to go before you. He must lead you as you study as well. Before you accept that job offer, God must go before you.

This is a prayer of faith but it also requires some discipline. Sometimes the options before you look so enticing and too good to be true. There will be an opportunity to make some big money, the man or woman of your dreams will appear before you, or you could be invited to be a part of the cool kids.

When you ask God to lead you, sometimes He can lead you to say no to those options, it will be for your own good. There are so many examples of men and women who chose something, only to find disaster waiting for them.

Ask God to lead you in the right direction. David said in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd …”, may God be your Shepherd this year. You have to know that the beginning of the year is a sign of new life. Undoubtedly, some bad events will happen this year.

You will face failure, heartbreak, torment, loss. This is the natural process of life. However, God is a God of life. In Genesis 1, God is showing us one of His many attributes that include life and abundance.

Therefore, whatever challenges you may encounter, remember that God ultimately has a life giving plan for you. l hope you learnt the lessons that life taught you last year, otherwise you might encounter the same problems this year.

Have a plan for the year, set specific, realistic and achievable goals to monitor your growth. Take stock of your resources be they financial, emotional, mental, or spiritual; and allocate them wisely so that you can get the best out of them.

This is your year to shine, God is on your side. Until next time, God bless and take care.

Tinashe Zinyemba is a pastor with New Life Covenant Church. Feedback: [email protected]