According to Your Word for 2007

It’s Christmas Eve and I was thinking of the words of the Angel to Mary and her reply (Luke 34-38):

But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

When Mary submitted herself to God she couldn’t figure out how it was all going to unfold. But she allowed faith to rise above human reasoning and she trusted God. And consequently God performed His Word and attained the impossible in Mary’s life. In God, there is a connection between trusting and achieving the impossible.

When ever you allow faith to rise above human reasoning, and then simply place your trust in God, He will work the miraculous in those seemingly impossible situations. "For nothing is impossible with God."

How reassuring it is for us to remember that when we trust in God, His plan for our lives unfolds perfectly each moment of every day. And the impossible becomes possible!

Proverbs 3:5 encourages you to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” And isn’t this exactly what Mary did?

Notice, trust is a heart matter! And the degree to which you trust in God reveals the level of faith you have in His ability to positively affect your situation. Unfortunately most people have never actually trusted in God with all their heart, and therefore, most are simply leaning on their own understanding - trusting in their own ability to work things out!

Genuine trust in God guarantees exceeding blessings! But there are three things you cannot do if you are truly placing your trust in Him:

(a) You cannot be overtly anxious over anything that is troubled, worried, and uneasy disturbed or distressed. And no anxiety, real or potential, is excluded!

In Philippians 4:6 the apostle Paul urges his readers to break an established pattern - anxiety! The Greek word he uses has a very negative connotation; it describes someone attempting to carry the burden of the future [the unknown] all alone. Something you shouldn’t be planning to do next year - 2007.

(b) You cannot strive to get what you want. That is, strain, tug, drive or use your own ability

In 2 Corinthians 3:1-8 two intriguing points are brought up, firstly that we are living "epistles", and secondly, that we are all "able ministers."

But let's examine the second statement more closely. "Not that we are ourselves rendered fit to think anything as being from ourselves, but our ability is from God, who also made us fit and able as servers of the fresh new covenant."

Your trust for 2007 cannot be centred in your own abilities but only in the ability you get from Him. For it is God who is the source of all abilities, gifts and talents!

(c) You cannot be in a hurry to get where you want. That is, impatient, intolerant, and solicitous or over-keen. Remember, patience is evidence that faith is being exercised. It provides confirmation that faith is present!

Psalm 37:7 tells us to, "Be at rest before the Lord and wait patiently for Him." Many of you can do neither; you are either too restless before Him, or too impatient with Him. But, do you know? God has equipped you with the power to endure any lengthy ordeal with joy! Yet this cannot be achieved without trust! Psalm 2:12, “Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.”

At this time, my prayer for all of you is that you simply “trust God in everything.” And that you will go into the New Year with Faith and Expectancy - knowing that nothing is impossible with God.

Let’s all take a page out of Mary’s life and pray, “I am a servant of the Most High God. Therefore, may it be done to me according to His word. For nothing is impossible with God in the coming year. This is my confession and by faith I receive it right now. Amen"

Chris Demetriou, 24/11/2006