“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 NLT
The first business I started just turned 10 this January 2024, and on the anniversary day, I felt awkward. Two days prior, during my quiet time, I was moved to just thank God for all the experiences over the last decade. The day after that, the same thing happened.
But the anniversary morning was different. I wasn’t in high spirits. Initially, I couldn’t trace the reason for that bout of emotions, but during the day, I confirmed the date and realized why.
I cried over spilled milk. I tried to show gratitude to God for the failures and successes, and I repeated that cycle of gratitude and tears until I felt refreshed.
Why did I cry?
I cried because a seed of comparison was planted in my heart that day, and I couldn’t help but see where I had fallen short over the past ten years. I felt time had gone, I wasn’t getting younger, and there was so much I could have done differently.
But then I showed gratitude to God, dismissing the comparison and just thanking Him for my growth journey. So many things have been done right, and I am at a level that is currently the prayer point of someone else.
The next day, all I prayed for was the life-giving breath of God. This is what causes everything good to come back to life, quickening my spirit to do God’s will.
I shared this so that when you find yourself in a similar situation, you may sulk, but don’t dwell there. Time may pass, but God is timeless. There’s so much he still wants to do through you and me over the next decade. All we need to do is yield.
How can we yield?
It’s as simple as saying “I surrender” and as difficult as laying down your work at the feet of the Father.
There’s so much God wants to do through us, but we’re often stuck in our ways, setting goals with short timelines that leave us overwhelmed and “unmoulded.”
When we yield, God knows how to move those goals around, shift the timelines, and strike out the unnecessary ones. We must allow Him to do all of that.
God is more interested in who we become, even before what we get along the way. If He has to move a six-month goal forward to two years, He would, just so we become the person who can handle the benefits of achieving that goal.
In all our ways, let’s acknowledge Him, and He’ll direct our paths.
“Father, I have so many plans for 2024, and I want to put them into your hands. These plans include…”
If you’re yet to make plans, please do so. Yielding doesn’t mean being unintentional about what you do.
If you’ve made plans, list them out, commit them to God, ask that they receive life, and be open to the adjustments that God makes. It’s all for our good.
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