New Year Message

COMMIT YOUR LIFE TO THE LORD
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the
Lord; trust in Him.” (Psalm 37:4-5 NIV)
Psalms 37 is a song of the future, a song about God’s promises to His children who find themselves
amid difficult circumstances. Even though we may face crisis and difficult situations, we know that
we can continue to live and work peacefully in the year ahead, because the God whom we trust will
always take care for us.
On the threshold of a brand-new year why not try to do a few of the things that the psalmist
suggests:
• Trust in God for the year ahead, do what is good and continue to live and work in peace (v 3)
• Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will provide the things that you desire (v 4)
• Entrust the management of your life to God, and He will take care of you every day (v 5)
It is not a promise that God will give you whatever you want but it is a promise that as you seek God
with all your heart and delight in Him in His presence, then He promises to fill your heart’s desires
because you will want what He wants. Your desires will match up with God’s. We are often upset by
the fact that things go so much better for unbelievers than for us. But the psalmist knows full well
that suffering often draws us closer to God. We are reminded that true satisfaction and lasting
happiness are found in a deep, abiding relationship with God.
There is no guarantee that you will skip through the year ahead without problems. But your
circumstances do not determine your happiness. Happiness resides in the hearts of people who are
in step with God. If you undertake to follow God’s commandments, God Himself will give you His joy
and peace in your life as we continue bearing fruit that will last in this new year. As we delight
ourselves in the Lord, our desires will align with His, and we will experience the peace and
contentment that only He can provide.
PRAYER
In this new year Lord, teach us to walk with You day by day with our hands in Yours. Thank you for
the assurance that if we do this, we will find no challenge too great and no obstacle insurmountable.
We want to live our entire lives in Your hands and trust you completely.
Show us the right way to take care of ourselves according to your will in the year ahead. Please
provide for each of our needs and when we are occasionally doubtful, send us the light of your word
as a lamp to light our way. Thank you for the promise that You will be with us, that You will help us
up when we fall, that You will lead us like a shepherd.
Teach us to wait on you Father, to cling to the hope that we profess, because we know for certain
that You will do what You have promised. We pray that in this year You will, through Your Holy Spirit
who lives in us, enable us to live according to your instructions and to comply with Your
commandments. Amen.
Sipiwe Chisvo
World President