2024 is my year of Clarity, Confidence and Courage. Clarity can only be given by the Lord.  He doesn’t want us to have blurry vision, but He will not give us clarity when He knows that in our heart, we are not ready for it.  I had slowly begun to see glimpses of the Lord’s vision for me through my spiritual eyes. But I must admit that I was in denial and the Holy Spirit has revealed that I’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.  I must stay humble, embrace my calling, and own my purpose.  I pray, “Lord, keep me humble”.

Seeking clarity is an act of trust that God is present in the process and that the Holy Spirit will reveal ways for us to move forward. Fully aligned with our sense of God’s purpose in everything we do and in all areas of our lives.  Again, we must not allow our minds to talk us out of our revelation. In order for us to have Clarity, we must follow the pillar of cloud and trust the Lord to go ahead of us and show us the way that we should go.  Only with clarity will our path become clearer, as we let Him lead us.  We must seek clarity and focus as we enter into new, unfamiliar territory.  It’s interesting that we are usually very careful not to go ahead of God, but we also don’t want to be too far behind Him either.  We don’t want the pillar of cloud to move, and we don’t. 

We cannot accomplish our purpose until we understand our identity because we can’t try to figure out who we are and what to do at the same time. What we think about ourselves could potentially sabotage our assignment.  We continue overthinking and over analyzing something God is making very simple and very clear, the Lord will not allow us to be anyone other than who He’s created us to be. His anointing, which enables us to understand, apply, and administer spiritual truth, will only fall on our authentic selves. The Holy Spirit will guide us into who we are becoming, and He will reveal our character flaws, as needed.  This does not mean that our inadequacies will prevent us from accepting our assignment, however, they must be addressed before our purpose can be accomplished. 

Ultimately, we must understand that we are operating in God’s power and His strength. We must be confidence not in ourselves, but in God. However, He has given each of us a measure of faith and spiritual gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, dividing to every man severally as He will.  But all of our gifts worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit. Romans 12:3, 6, 1 Corinthians 12:11 (paraphrased)

Therefore, we have a huge part to play.  Our spiritual gifts are important, and we must use them, even if at times we get it wrong.  We are not perfect, so we may not always use our gifts perfectly.  However, we must not deprive someone of our gift to save our self-image. We don’t want the fact that we may look bad, allow someone to live badly.  We must be willing to obey God no matter what others say. Obedience is key.

Despite our experiences or concerns, we must decide to respond in faith instead of fear.  We will be tested, but we must allow the Lord to grow our faith in Him, along the way,.  I heard Dr. Dharius Daniels say that even when we flunk the test, if we learn the lesson, God will let us go to the next level. God has equipped us to fulfill the purpose that He has call us to.  Our assignments are designed to be bigger and tougher than we thought.  However, we are not given more than we can effectively handle, provided we do things God’s way. 

The Lord says, I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths.  When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble.  Proverbs 4:11-12 NLT

In a recent message by Dr. Daniels, he said that many of us are waiting at the green light.  The Lord has already given us His divine permission to go, and we must have the courage to hit the gas.  He has already strategically aligned everything to make sure that we are at the right place at the right time.  God opens doors designated just for us that no man or woman can shut.  But on the other hand, when the Lord closes doors, we must not insist on keeping them open.   We must just let God be God.  He will always have a different measuring stick than we do, and our best efforts will always fall short of the His standard. However, we must have commitment and courage to take the next step and walk in expectancy.  We must be intentional in our pursuit of the Lord and even more intense in our worship of Him. 

Lord, teach us how to love you and how to trust you with all of our heart…

But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

1 Corinthians 2:9

And with that I’d like to leave you with 3 key points…

1. Clarity – Seeking clarity is an act of trust that God is present in the process and that the Holy Spirit will reveal ways for us to move forward. 
2. Confidence / Authenticity – The Lord will not allow us to be anyone other than who He’s created us to be.
3. Courage / Faith – Along the way, we will be tested, but we must allow the Lord to grow our faith in Him.  Even when we flunk the test, if we learn the lesson, God will let us go to the next level.

JOURNAL PROMPT:  If there was One Word that you wanted to live by this year, what would it be?