Are You Ready to Experience Something New?

Your car broke down, you learned you have to take a pay cut, or even be laid off. Things are not going right. Sickness may have overtaken you, relatives died. Unemployment, disability, all the stresses of life. You barely have ends meeting now and things by your calculation are even worse the next few months.This year, you have experienced the ultimate test of faith, and have been faced with some of the worst situations. The questions are: can you make it through? Can you still believe? And does the Bible give you enough strength and scripture to go into 2011 with excitement? The answer friend is yes!

For God promises us in His word through Isaiah 43:19 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

God is going to do a new thing. You can have a day fill with opportunities to create yourself and your results anew. Take charge of your life today and everyday moving forward. Try not to focus on the past, move on. Learn from your past, make new choices, and move one. A person living in the past is like a driver who is driving down the road starring at the rear view mirror. Sooner or later, driving in this manner will lead to catastrophe. Allow the past to serve its rightful purpose as a teacher. Your past does not determine your future.

I believe there comes times in our lives where there are circumstances we don’t understand why. If you are not happy with the results you have had in your life up until now, be grateful for those results and experiences. They are true gifts. What do you mean by gifts? God was revealing important messages to you to mature your faith in Him.

You have to stay strong and be diligent in your approach to viewing your situation now. Here’s a question, why do people continue to get what they always got? The answer to this question is quit simple: If you continue to be who you have always been, you’ll continue to have what you’ll always had. In other words, if we don’t like what we are getting, we need to look at who and what we are being.

You cannot go into 2011 with this same drama in your life. You cannot be caught up in what used to be or who you used to be. God wants to give you new blessings. But God can’t give them to you if you continue to treat the new things like the old things by holding on to what has been.

Philippians 3:13-14 says, Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. This word straining means: To pull, draw, or stretch tight: strained the sheets over the bed. In 2010, God has been stretching you. God has been preparing you. He’s been getting you ready for your blessing.

We have to learn to leave the former things where they are. It’s time to move on. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Thank God for a mighty great year. Thank God for all he has done for you. Thank God for what He taught you this year. Thank God for walking with you. God’s word will not return void.

Join me in declaring “GOD IS DOING A NEW THING”. Declare you will receive complete restoration. Declare doors will be opened that no man can shut. Declare you will be blessed with new ideas, new strategies, new businesses, second chances, new worship, and the list is endless. Whatever your new thing is, speak it. For the word promises us, if you declare a thing and it will be established for you. Your current situation isn’t the destination, but a chance to do something new in 2011.

Cynthia A. Patterson is the author of the forthcoming book, It Had to Happen – Understanding that everything you go through in life is for God’s Purpose. A sought-after conference speaker, teacher, and powerful prayer warrior who has a passion to inspire and encourage women. Her message of faith and wholeness is raising the awareness of God’s purpose and exposing each woman to the reality of His never-ending, love, mercy, and grace. Cynthia resides in Houston, Texas with son Michael who she calls her “mighty man of valor” as he is her first ministry.

Don't Worry, Pray and Give Thanks!

How many of you can agree there are passages of scriptures you come across many many times? But, there are times with the same passage it appears as though it leaps off the pages and you grab a hold of it for dear life thanking God for reminding you He got you! My dear friends this is what I call a Rhema Word. It is a seed God has planted in your soul to activate your faith to believe whatever He has promised you shall come to pass.

In light of this Thanksgiving season, I wanted to offer a word encourage to you through Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

It's good to never worry about anything! It seems impossible – we all have worries on the job, in our homes, at school. But Paul’s advice is to turn your worries into prayers. Do you want to worry less? Then pray more! See whenever you start to worry, stop and pray.

Jesus said in John 14:27 (NLT),I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. Jesus said He will give us that peace if we are willing to accept it from Him. Therefore, enjoy your family and friends this Thanksgiving you deserve it!

Cynthia A. Patterson is the author of the forthcoming book, It Had to Happen – Understanding that everything you go through in life is for God’s Purpose. A sought-after conference speaker, teacher, and powerful prayer warrior who has a passion to inspire and encourage women. She is dedicated and sold out for the cause of teaching young adult women their significant purpose and worth is found in Christ alone. Her message of faith and wholeness is raising the awareness of God’s purpose and exposing each woman to the reality of His never-ending, love, mercy, and grace. Cynthia lives in Houston, Texas with son Michael who she calls her “mighty man of valor” as he is her first ministry.

Create a Plan Providentially

For most of us organization is very important. We plan everything. We plan where we will go to school, what we will study, and our future occupation. We must understand, however planning is not merely a matter of following the principles in some book, but recognizing our God has something to say about our plans. When you plan, you must biblically think about what you are doing. Will what I am doing bring Glory to God? Will my endeavors make me a better follower of Christ? When you can answer yes to these questions, only then can you plan with an attitude that God is pleased with. Your hardest work and best plans won’t please Him or garner success unless they are sanctified by Him. Proverbs 16:3-4, 9, is the perfect guide for ANY planning session, whether spiritual or otherwise: “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The LORD works out everything for his own ends, even the wicked for a day of disaster. In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”

I would like to encourage you to know the decision to change must be accompanied by changed behavior. Just as you cannot be a reformed burglar if you are still stealing, likewise you cannot be a child of the King unless you are living as though you are one of His chosen. The way you live, whether you are upholding God’s precepts or not, have serious implications for the success of any of your endeavors. If you are not living right, you should not be asking why you are not experiencing success in your endeavors. Proverbs 12:5 says, “The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.” No matter how you twist and change this verse, we all have to admit one honest to God truth: If you are not living righteously, DO NOT expect God to bless your efforts. Our God is a loving God, not blind or foolish.

Jay E. Adams says “Your life is short, your life is unpredictable, your life is feeble, and your life is entirely in God’s hand.” I truly believe this to be the case. We must come into the realization we are no longer going to live in the same state of despair anymore and put a plan together to make something happen. Viktor Frankl put it best: “Those who have a why to live, can bear with almost any how.” How we plan deliverance is the answer to becoming whole again.

Cynthia A. Patterson is the author of the forthcoming book, It Had to Happen – Understanding that everything you go through in life is for God’s Purpose. A sought-after conference speaker, teacher, and powerful prayer warrior who has a passion to inspire and encourage women. She is dedicated and sold out for the cause of teaching young adult women their significant purpose and worth is found in Christ alone. Her message of faith and wholeness is raising the awareness of God’s purpose and exposing each woman to the reality of His never-ending, love, mercy, and grace. Cynthia lives in Houston, Texas with son Michael who she calls her “mighty man of valor” as he is her first ministry