09 Jan What If…

What if…

A very typical scripture oftentimes used as the church transitions from one year into the New Year is Isaiah 43:18-19… “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old.  ¹⁹ Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it?  I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

This tends to be a very exciting time for many; knowing that we are about to put the past year behind us and prepare for the “new things” that God has prepared for us especially if our year was filled with challenges, frustrations, trails, or any other negative experiences.  We may go through many difficult situations where we were being pulled into many different directions by many opposing forces…people, finances, job, family, health problems, co-workers, our very own insecurities, rejection, etc.

What If…all of the negative things that we experienced in 2016 are things that God was using to pull us into the place where He wants us to go and to be in 2017?

I know and I understand that God is always moving forward and God is always doing new things because He never stays stagnant.

But, What If…the new thing that God has for you in 2017 is something that never got accomplished, never got resolved, never got finished, or we simply never gave the time and attention that God wanted us to in order to produce a flow of blessing in our lives.

What If…the things that were blocked and the things that were hindered in our lives in 2016 are the very things that require our attention at the beginning of this New Year?

The reason we made it through 2016 is because the Lord blessed us and His desire is for us to live in state of fulfillment while we are waiting on all the promised of God to come to pass in our lives.

In John 7:37-38 Jesus cried out…“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”  While this scripture directly relates to the promise of the Holy Spirit, we need to have a fresh revelation that Jesus desires each one of us to be producing and enjoying all that He has for us in the flow of our relationship with Him.

If there are things that are stopping up that flow, God will not be able to increase our capacity and we will find that we will not be able to fully fulfill our calling; especially if we allow ourselves to get stuck in our comfort zones.

In Genesis 26 we find Isaac sowing and reaping a hundredfold in the same year and on top of that the Lord blessed him and not only did he prosper, but he continued to prosper and became very prosperous.  However, the Philistines (the enemy) were envious and stopped up all the wells and filled them with dirt (vss. 12-15).

What dirt is stopping up your wells and blocking the flow of blessings and favor as you move into this year?  You see, the enemy can’t take away our blessings and favor but he certainly can block the flow into our lives.  When your flow is blocked, you will find that it is much more difficult to pray and to connect with God like you want and need too.

We desperately desire for the changes, the miracles, the supernatural to be flowing in our lives, but there simply may be some things that we need to dig up or unblock in order for all of those things to begin to flow again and flow unhindered.

It’s time to dig and to dig deep.  If we want to see the full manifestation of the overflow of God’s blessings in our lives higher and higher, we must dig deep.  It is true that the Word declares that the blessings of God flow to us, but they also need to flow through us.  We need to dig out everything that contaminates and has the potential to stop up the flow of God through us in order to make a difference to the world around us.

We must dig out and get rid of…

Complaining

Regrets

Bitterness

Resentment

Excuses

Depression

Complacency

Disappointments

Dysfunction

Doubt

Fear

Sin

Unrealistic expectations

Grumbling

Back-biting

Anger

Unforgiveness

Hopelessness

And anything else that may have hindered you in 2016.

For some, you may find that you need to dig all year long but the more you dig out the more open the wells will become.  No matter what or who may have caused your wells to get stopped up, each of us must take ownership of being the one to unstop them.  Don’t expect someone else to unstop your well; they are working on their own!

What If…The solution you need for 2017 lies in the old wells of 2016 that just need to be unearthed?  Your old wells might just be the key to releasing the living waters to get the flow back in your life…NEW FLOW FROM OLD WELLS!!!

Your passion for the things of God may need to be re-dug to get you to the new position that God has waiting for you in 2017.

It’s time to dream again.  It’s time to hope again.  It’s time to flow through 2017 with what you already have inside you!!!

John 4:14…”but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”