So one of the things I do every New Years eve, after the hub hub is over (the countdown, the party hats are off and the noisemakers disposed off…) when we finally just sit together… I invite my guest to reflect on the previous year and then I ask — what has become the dreaded question — “What is God asking of you in this new year?”

As we go around the circle, sometimes it’s an easy question to answer and very often its not but for close to 30 years that’s what a small group of friends have been asking each other.

Of course, this year was different. Our group was small. Very small. I did however, I put my friends on notice that this question was going to be asked and they better start thinking of an answer because no pandemic was going to stop me!

I did hear back from one friend who said rather bluntly, “2020 sucked and I, for one, have no interest in reflecting on it.” Followed by, “I just want it [2020] to be over!”

She was not alone…It was a tough year.

In Isaiah 43, God was speaking to the people of Israel. And if you read the whole chapter, you will see a list of very beautiful, and very powerful promises.

Today, I find myself gravitating to this promise, in verse 18-19:

God said to them, and you and me,

“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
“Can you see, I am doing something new.”

I pray that God might speak very directly to you of what that 'new thing' is, this new year!

If you made a New Year’s resolution at the beginning of 2020, how did that turn out? We all start off the New Year with good intentions don’t we? But what if this year, 2021 we start off the year with a different kind of intention?

I want to challenge you this year to go beyond just having some good intentions, and instead, have some God intentions because I believe that when God births something in you, it will come about. God says, “See, I am doing a new thing!"

Would you consider joining me, and the Amberlea leadership team, in reading through the bible in 2021? There are a number of resources available to assist you. Check out Nancy’s blog last week.

This year, like no other, let’s devote some time in God intentions and let’s watch together how we are blessed in immeasurable ways!