God's Not Through With You Yet!

Can you believe we are about to step into 2013? Where has this year gone??

I love when the new year comes. It's a fresh, new start! Even though we're just transitioning from one year to the next, it seems that we are starting with a clean slate and everything is brand new!

Maybe 2012 has been a difficult year for you. So many people have gone through so many hardships and painful situations. I would never try to minimize what you have been going through! Pain is real and it can hurt deeply. But I want to encourage you. You are still here. You still have a purpose. My prayer for you is that 2013 will be the best year you have ever had! May He give you beauty for ashes. May he bring healing to your heart and peace to your mind! May He show you that it is not over. You still have work to do and may all the pain you've experienced help you reach the destiny that you've been called to.

Sometimes when we go through difficult times, God prepares us to help others along the way. You can be sure that at some time you will cross paths with someone who is experiencing what you have went through. Do you realize what an encouragement you can be to them? The fact that you made it will give them hope that they can make it too. They will find relief in knowing that someone truly understands what they are facing.

Sometimes hard times help us get to know our Father better. If we've never had a sickness that we needed to be healed from, how will we ever truly know Him as our Healer? If we've always had everything we needed and never had to struggle, will we ever really know Him as our Provider? Trials and tribulations sometimes position us to become acquainted with a side of God that we never really knew before. We learn His character. We go from just hearing about it from someone else to truly knowing it from experience! I wouldn't trade all the struggles that I've gone through for anything because they have helped me to know Him on a deeper and more intimate level and the relationship I have with Him means everything to me!

Whatever life has thrown your way during 2012, know this...the best is yet to come! God is not through with you yet! There is still so much that is awaiting you! Don't let past experiences or failures keep you from embracing all that He has for you! Step out in faith! Walk in obedience when He tells you to do something! If you never step out, you will never know what's truly inside of you! Remember, before He formed you in the womb, He knew you! He placed greatness on the inside of you! He called you to do something great for His kingdom! Don't let anything steal that from you! Get to know Him! Know who you are in Christ! See yourself through His eyes and be determined to fulfill your God-given purpose! May 2013 be the year of new beginnings and the year that you see things that you never dreamed were possible! I believe in you and know that God has called you for such a time as this! May your light shine brighter than ever before and may you be a living testimony of His grace, His mercy, His love, and His forgiveness! May your life point others to Him and may everyone you come in contact with know that there is always hope! Point the way and let them know they can do all things through Christ who strengthens them!