By Pastor William Y. K. Brown Ph.D
(Resident Pastor)
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Osu-Bethel.
Tel: 0244165628/0243310773.
wykbrown@gmail.com0
GEMS FOR MEDITATION AND PRAYER
THEME FOR THE WEEK: LEAD THOU US ON
SUNDAY
THEME: LEAD, O GOD, LEAD!
SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 3:6
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
REFLECTIONS:
Growing up as a young man, I was extremely curious to find out what happens the last night of the year (31st December) before the morning of the first day of the new year (1st January). Year after year, my curiosity did not find a solution. Until today, I have never seen anything spectacular. It is just like all other nights and days. The night of transition from the passing year to the incoming year does not carry anything supernatural. But it testifies that God still controls what He has created. The Scripture says during creation, Genesis 1:5, “. . . So the evening and the morning were the first day.” The phrase: “So the evening and the morning were . . .” was pronounced by God after each day of creation (see verses 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). The significance is that a day begins with the night part. So we look forward to the first day of the year starting this evening.
The year begins with the critical question: what does the new year have for us? The journey into a new year can come with many idealistic expectations, some of which may be realistic, others unrealistic. But the certainty of our expectations can be anchored in God, our Savior. Any way that God leads will end at the expected destination. Any way God leads is security-assured. There is no cause to fear, fret, tire, or complain when God leads. God assesses the way and puts in safety precautions before He sets His children to walk. Today is a watershed. The last day of 2023 will dovetail into January 1, 2024. How would you want to end your year, and how do you want to begin the new year?
From New Year’s Day to the end of the ensuing year, the principle to guide your life is: “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” – Proverbs 3:6. If you will meditate on this daily and spend time alone with God to seek His direction, you will never be found wanting in the year ahead. God is interested in you as a person. Your laughs, smiles, and cries; your pains and sufferings; your joys, successes, and even failures attract His attention. When He directs, He will bring positive and negative experiences together to give you renewed energy and power to achieve what He intends for your life. You can trust God to lead and direct if you only offer Him the free hand to do His part for you. In the new year, God is inviting you for a partnership – what is your take on that?
On the verge of a new year, we want to remember a spirit-filled counsel that several authors have quoted. Ellen G. White did an assessment and stated: “As I see what God has wrought, I am filled with astonishment and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” Testimonies to Ministers, p. 31. You can have peace, success, and hope with Christ as the leader. Journey on, beloved, but do this one thing, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
MY SONG OF COMMITMENT
SDAH 3 – “God Himself is With Us”
LET US PRAY
– Praise and thank God for His guidance throughout the year; thank God for His constant presence and counsel; pray to continue to rely on His providence;
– Pray for your family, Church members, friends, acquaintances, neighbors, colleagues, and mates;
– Pray for people in pain, diseased, maltreated, and deprived; pray for those starving and rendered homeless by wars, violence, ethnic conflicts, and disasters; pray for those who are hospitalized;
– Pray earnestly for the country, its leaders, and the citizens for a new mindset of patriotism, faithfulness, selflessness, and making God the center and fulcrum of our lives.
