As we begin a brand-new year, what does your tomorrow look like? Are you feeling hopeful, or does it look dismal according to your current circumstances? Each day that we are alive, whether it is at the beginning, middle or the end of the year, we should be thankful for life.
For me, I have some expectations for 2024 according to what the Lord has shown and according to prophecies. However, the Lord had me zoned in on the kind of attitude I should maintain for 2024. In James 4:13-16 Amplified Bible, it says,
13 Come now [and pay attention to this], you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and carry on our business and make a profit.” 14 [a]Yet you do not know [the least thing] [b]about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air]. 15 Instead [c]you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast [vainly] in your pretension and arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
We are being asked firstly to pay attention, meaning, make this that is shared a matter of focus. In 2024, I am sensing that God wants us to tread lightly before Him and ensure we do not become worldly in our thoughts by being presumptuous with regards to life and living. Every day is to be viewed as a gift and treated as such. He wants us to be very mindful that without Him we can do nothing. This year, if we are going to manage well the various obstacles and opportunities that will present themselves, we will need to sincerely trust, lean not to our own understanding, and acknowledge Him in all our ways. We quote Proverbs 3:5-6 very often but we are going to have to walk it out in 2024 to be successful. It will be business unusual this year.
Interestingly the Greek word for tomorrow is “aurion”, which according to the King James Lexicon means fresh. Each day we should have a fresh outlook. Expect God to give fresh food, fresh instructions, fresh revelations, fresh insights! New things are about to enter the scene and we must stay close to His heart so as not to miss the various cues and clues. The verse in James encourages us to say “If the Lord wills, we will do…” To say this is not to indicate a sense of doubt, but it is a deep acknowledgement of your understanding that, it’s not by might, not by power (your own strength nor ability), but by His Spirit (Zech. 4:6)
Our lives are but a vapor, here one minute, vanish the next. Understanding this should prompt us to want to be more thoughtful and strategic about living. Sadly, some of us do not get to this consciousness until there is a diagnosis of a terminal illness. We go to school and learn in an effort to build self, improve skills and make ourselves more marketable. Let’s have this same kind of mindset when it comes to our souls. Let 2024 be the year to walk closely consistently to the Lord, our compass and life-giving source. I sense that decisions made in 2024 will set us on trajectories either for maximum, minimum or no yield in the following years to come.
May God cause us to be cognizant consistently as to the frailty of life. May He cause us to see His place in the existence of everything and consistently consult Him on all matters that pertain to life and godliness. May we live in a place of humility and gratitude as these things attract elevation and increase in all areas and on multiple levels.