New Year Challenges, Dt. 11.11f.

“The land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year even to the end of the year” (Dt. 11:11f., translation mine). Many Christians have prayed the prayer of Jabez. During this past year God’s saints prayed for their borders to be enlarged, and God granted their prayer. Now the time has come to take possession of their God-given enlarged territory. During this year you will challenge the hills and valleys you prayed for God to supply. There will be agreeable times and unpleasant times. You will experience peaks in your walk with the Lord as well as the valleys of the shadow of death. However, both are gifts from the Lord. Every hill and valley has been sculptured in eternity past just for you. Each is designed to conform you to the image of Jesus so that He might become known to all the world as the first-born among many brethren (Ro. 8:29). Oftentimes Christians fail to realize that every territory is comprised of hills and valleys. The hills and valleys are conquerable. Nonetheless, the conquering shall not occur unless the Holy Spirit is engaged in the battle. Be encouraged! God cares for the land where you have been sent. His eyes are always on it from the beginning of this year even to the end of this year. Your responsibility is to be sensitive to the timing of the Holy Spirit. You must discern if this is the time to plant or to uproot, the time to kill or to heal, the time to tear down or the time to build up (Ecc. 3:1ff.). Your question is, “How will I know when to do what?” God enables saintly discernment: ♣ Perceive yourself to be an alien, pilgrim and stranger (I Pe. 2:11) ♣ Understand that you are in another man’s commonwealth for this world is not your home (Ps. 119:19) ♣ Accept your responsibility as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (II Ti. 2:3) ♣ Beware of getting what God does not desire you to have (Js. 4:1f.) You can accomplish all God desires for you in this very year when your adequacy is from the all-sufficient God (II Cor. 3:5). “Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that Thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that Thy hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep me from harm, and that it may not pain me!’ And God granted him what he requested” (I Chron. 4:10).