Your Will

Happy New Year! Let me just say, when I was a child, time seemed to stand still or at least move at tortoise speed. It felt like great moments, holidays, and vacation breaks lasted so long. However, the older I get, the more life seems to move at warp speed.

To that point, here we are at the top of another year. This is the time when most people are looking for a reset in focus, health, personal and business goals, etc. I remember there was a time when I would attend vision board parties, and then fill my wall with the goals and material things that I wanted to accomplish and obtain throughout the incoming new year. This was so that I could always keep the vision in front of me. That was until I hit a wall in my life.

I had come to the end of a year and realized that much of what I had placed on my vision wall had not come to pass despite my efforts. I had put in a lot of work that year, but had little to what felt like nothing to show for it. So, in frustration, I yanked everything off the vision wall.

As I sat there staring at the blank wall, one by one, my children and husband rotated into the room, took notice of the bare wall, and asked the same question, “You good? Are you putting anything back up?” They knew that something had to be off if everything was missing from the wall. My simple reply was, “Yep. I’m good. And, nope, I’m not putting anything back up there unless God tells me to, because obviously I am doing something wrong.”

The truth is, I in fact had done something wrong. In all my goal setting and vision planning, I never stopped to ask God what His will and plan was for my life for that year, or any year. I was more focused on what I wanted or thought I should’ve accomplished, and then asked God to bless “my will”. That moment has since transformed how I approach the new year and any type of goal or vision planning.

Now, I apply Proverbs 16:3 to my vision for the year in all areas of my life.

In the Amplified version, it reads, “Commit your works to the LORD [submit and trust them to Him], And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].”

In combination, I both submit the things that I desire to God, asking if it's His will, and also pause to ask what He has for me to accomplish. Doing this has allowed me to not only see more productivity in my life, as I obey, but also has helped me to stay more aligned with the will of God for my life, which positions me to receive the provisions that the LORD has for me.

So, as you are establishing your vision for the year and planning out your action plans to reach your goals, take a pause and submit them to God for His approval, His will, and His direction. I promise the results will be far greater than you could ever think or imagine.