Many people stuck with their past in the expense of their future. These are not always those people who dwell in their past and spent lots of time to regurgitate failures, missed opportunities, disappointments, betrayals, denials, and misfortunes. There are also people who spend countless time in over celebrating past successes, pleasant relations, good lucks, fortunate events, blessings, surprises, and many more. It is acceptable as part of remembering them to thank God who gave us strength to pass those darken moments and praise Him for giving us wisdom and power to accomplish those great successes and to enjoy those outstanding fortunes. However, living the past to rewind it again and again as if that is your only hay days or losing any hope as if you cannot come out of those blows are equally faulty. One of the challenges God has with His people Israelites was erasing their past. They remember the onions, the beefs, and idol worshiping they had enjoyed in Egypt while He was heading them to the land which flow with milk and honey, and to make slaves royal kings and priests of the Most High May God save us from dwelling in our past while He is taken us to 2008 for our envious inheritance! You know that He was angry with them and left them die in the wilderness to be buried with their lust of the past. Let God never leave us dead in our past wilderness as He is taking us to our great days ahead because we are stubborn and past worshippers like Israelites.

My main burden in writing this mini article is to give hope from the Bible for those who have been tormented, beaten, frustrated, disappointed, and for those who are thinking the agenda for their life is closed by 2007 and for those who have no expectation for 2008 thinking that they are no more worthy of success, achievements, blessings, and things of these nature. However, I would like also to awaken, set the bar a little higher, and trigger those who satisfied with the little success and blessings they enjoyed in 2007 and those who are not highly expectant of the New Year. The latter category of people need to understand that they should not have a best yesterday; in this case, 2007. Whether 2007 has been a disappointment or a memorable eventful past, if we believe in God who always does new things, we should expect our best days are yet to come. In any case, my hope message is equally important to all kinds of people and regardless of the degree in which they have passed through 2007. Therefore, those of us who passed through challenges, let’s hope that our sorrow and disappointments are going to be forgotten in 2008. What ever was promised and allocated for you from heaven for 2007 and you haven’t gathered it yet, it will be released in 2008 that keep on pressing. Temporary delay doesn’t mean denial! May be you didn’t have high expectation and you might have narrow rooms to contain what was coming. Therefore, get out and join 2008 with more expectation and hope so that you could be able to download your portion and inheritance.

Those of us who think we enjoyed 2007, let’s come to believe in this season that the New Year is more stunning than 2007. You might have not visited your doctor in 2007 and that disease (s) might not made you bedridden but let’s go for total health in 2008. Thank God you were happy though single in 2007 but let’s drop loneliness and get the right-mate in 2008. Praise God that you were attending church regularly but let’s His blessing come on you as you serve this year. Many thanks to Him you barely served God but let’s see you as anointed person of God who will deliver multitudes in 2008. You might have been blessed but you need to be a blessing in 2008 (Genesis 12:2). You might have enough and your needs are barely met but let’s join 2008 for more than enough life where there is no constraints to pursue your God given assignment. Regardless of what have happened in 2007, we all need hope and faith to receive the best out of 2008! For your surprises, more than recovering from past failures, disappointments, satisfaction with little successes and dancing around in light shower rain, the will of the Almighty is to take you to new places and shower you with heavy rain of blessings which have never been in your mind. God might not only talking about geographically where you should not feel like I don’t need to move from here to new places since I am well satisfied in the country and state I am living, in the Ministry I am serving, in the home I am dwelling, and so on. It could be positional new places in terms of health, wealth, wisdom, relation, promotion, service, multiplications. These could be from your bed where you lay now hopelessly to the new place of total health and deliverance; from constrained financial situation to the overflow; from pity party to joy and gladness; from one bed room apartment to your mansion; from your insignificant service to an impact-full service; from local championship to global celebration, you name it. However, this takes to forget the former thing. God emphasis at Isaiah 43:18 - 19 that forget the former things and don’t dwell on the past; see I am doing a new thing! He is ready to do new things in your life, your families, businesses, and ministry but the precondition is to forget the former things whether these things are little successes or total brokenness and hopelessness. When we empty what are the left over’s of 2007, God will get space to bring in new things in our life as per His promises! Wait the remaining days of 2007 with new plans, faith and patience as it says Abraham received what was promised after waiting patiently (Heb 6:15).

This is the right season to do so and welcome to your new places!! What makes me over joyous from Isaiah 43:19 is that it asks “now it springs up and don’t you perceive it?” Can we perceive what is coming in 2008 while we are in the 11th hour of 2007? This is the season now to smell what God is cooking in our behalf for 2008. How much we perceive it depends how fast it will come into our life. Show your perception by writing down your New Year resolutions (If you want me to share with you my experience regarding aligned New Year Resolutions, please read the attached article). How much God will be pleased on us in trusting Him will dictate when and by how much the blessing pours. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Are we ready to trust Him by perceiving what is coming in 2008? You may not fall short to perceive His great blessings in the name of Jesus! The next line builds me up and I believe it does for you too. It continues to say at Isaiah 43:19 that “I am making a way in the desert and streams in the waste land”. What so ever is the real situation around us thus far and in 2007, He is capable of creating ways when it seems there is no way. He is full of surprises and miracles in the midst of closed cases and humanly impossibilities. Our situation in 2007 might have been symbolized as desert and wasteful but this Word brings hope for us that God is able to open new cases when humans, devil, and circumstances closed our way and progress. He is ever and divinely productive to bring forth fruitfulness while reports from banks, schools, credit unions, doctors, families, peers, and bosses show our situation is wasteful and desert. Let’s rise up and shake the dust we picked while we were down following the knockouts of life and move on with new hope! May God whisper His omnipotent nature to you during this season in the name of Jesus! You won’t be deafening this time! The first thing, though there might be many possible reasons running in our mind, whenever we hear such up lifting messages while we are passing through hell is ‘I cannot see how it is going to work’? ‘I never heard any one from history, my own family, and friends who have ever come out from such desperate situation’? The ways have been rough, darkened, and they have been unfamiliar for you that you might have felt forsaken. However, that doesn’t proof that God is not able to make your way smooth and full of light. Yes, we might be hopeless and blind of possible way outs and felt we are the only one facing such horrors. Read what the Most High is declaring, as we are approaching the New Year, Isaiah 42: 16 “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them”. Hallelujah, He will not forsake us!!!!! He promised to Joshua saying that “No one will able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5). Was not that unfamiliar path to a junior like Joshua to substitute the responsibility of a giant like Moses? Didn’t Joshua conquer his enemies? Didn’t God was with him in the rest of his life? He was faithful; glory to His Name! What He did for Joshua, He will do to you as the Bible says He is not respecter of person. Most importantly, His Son Jesus Christ, who came down to save us, died for us, and promised not to forsake us till the end of the world is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Knowing the details of how He will do it is not your jurisdiction!

It is not our business! He has ways to command lions to be pillows and you could sleep safe in the midst of open jaws and graves! He has language to rebuke your winds and storms! He has His own law to despise the buoyant force to walk you on waters. He has power to resurrect you from death ridiculing science! He has His version of shield to stand with you inside of a furious fire! Just join the Psalmist (Psalm 91:4) as you may pass through fires of temptation and challenges “…under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart”. Let’s please admit that, before the King of Kings and this troublesome world, we are blind of how’s. The maximum we can help God is, to be humble enough for His guidance through unfamiliar paths in 2008, as stated in Psalm 25: 9, “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His ways…”. Let Him make the rough journey smooth in His way! Let Him call unfamiliar things for you! You don’t need to contemplate how your twisted, distorted, and complicated cases are rough and how impossible to make them smooth. Don’t try to find binoculars or telescopes of any resolution to uncover the unfamiliar. You don’t need to be terrorized ahead of giants in the unfamiliar territory God promised you in 2008. Hebrews 4: 13 says “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him…”. 2008 will be a year you will see His guidance and surprises; thus, forget the former things, perceive that something great is coming and have faith in His abilities that works beyond your weaknesses, talents, finances, and normal circumstances. He is a God of extra-ordinary! Amen! I will prophecy in your life today that 2008 will be the year you will forget your past sufferings and disappointments! I pray over your life that 2008 will be a year God, through the Holy Spirit, may guide you into unfamiliar territories and you may enjoy bright and smooth journey! You will not anger Him in complaining about the past so that He will not leave you as you were in 2007. 2008 will be the year you will enjoy His mercy and closer companionship! He will not forsake you as you thought in 2007! Your best days are a head of you! Arise, shine, for your light has come in ‘2008’, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you in (Isaiah 60:1-3). God bless you! Note: If you read this article after the New Year, it is still relevant and it is not too late. Please forward this article of hope to all you think need encouragement and hope.