Maybe you didn’t accomplish all of the goals that you had on your to do list in 2016, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t take a good look at what you did accomplish and make a new list for 2017.

Even when I fall short of the mark, I still want to keep striving to do my best. We can’t change the past mistakes or regrets; however, we are totally responsible for the choices that we make in the present and for our future. Do you feel as though you can’t get anything accomplished? You are in good company; many people feel that they have not completed the task. If you have done your best, then that is all that the Lord requires. It may be that the timing is off; God doesn’t work on our schedules; he works through his perfect will.

It’s time to focus on one goal or (obstacle) at the time. Usually, the greatest block to our success, is our own attitude. We say that we want to do x or y, then, we start listening to all those voices in our head that say, you know that you can never do x or y, because you didn’t even do so great on a or b. To all those naysayers that march around in my mind: maybe God didn’t want me to accomplish a or b, because doing so may have led me away from his presence.

Have you noticed that when life is great and everything is going splendidly, we tend to pray less, and get lackadaisical in our worship? It’s as if we believe we can put God lower on our list of priorities, because everything else under the sun, is more important in the moment. How can the Lord continue to allow that to happen? Before you know it, trouble comes, to remind us that we do need God.

Whatever it takes to get us back on track, so be it.

I don’t have a crystal ball to see what 2017 will bring; however, I know a God who watches out for me, and he told me to trust him and to lean not to my own understanding. When 2017 is but a memory, what would I like to have accomplished?

First of all, I would like to draw closer to the Lord, as he is our only hope.

Then, I want to do God’s will in every area of my life. He will guide us if we will allow him to do so.

Finally, I want the Lord to restore the joy of living for him. After time, we need to be refreshed and reminded of where the Lord brought us from, so that we can once again appreciate the place that he is taking us to. I desire that the Lord will give me a hunger for holiness, in this year, so that no matter what this year holds, I am prepared to rise above it, and maybe, be an encouragement to others who could be struggling to find that place of rest.

In this week’s Lattereign, we look at today-is-a-brand-new-day .