"Starting the New Year with God's Guidance" by Pastor Lourdes Hernandez

 
Hello Brave Hearted Steppers ~ Many blessings!

I am excited to be able to join the series for this month entitled, Starting the New Year with God's Guidance because it is something that is currently resounding with what is happening inside of me and around me.

I don’t know if you have gone to any of the stores yet, but, as of 12/26/24, we were already being presented with things for sale for Valentine’s Day. I am sure that someone has said this to you before, but, there is nothing like retail to make you feel like you need to keep up with what is going on so that you don’t fall behind. 

But I think that it is also true about all of the things that we constantly consume. By consume, I am referring to the things that we are seeing, hearing, and allowing into our hearts.

This can be especially true for those of us who are business owners, ministry leaders, and, to be honest with you, pretty much everyone.

It is so easy to want to go with the flow, to measure up to everyone else, and to want to join the bandwagon after watching what everyone else is doing. To be quite honest, sometimes these things can be oppressing and pressing up against our spirit to the point where we feel like, if we don’t catch up, we lose out on our opportunity.

I want to be able to breathe some life into your heart and I want to be able to share some important things with you that God has pressed on me for this year.

Recently I shared some advice on social media where I talked about going at “God-SPEED”. And this isn’t referring to the type of speed we all assume, fast and non-stopping. But rather, it is the speed at which God needs me to go in.

It is taking the time to note a few things:

- Though the Bible talks about a race having many runners, it doesn’t say that those runners are up against each other, but rather, that they share the same goal.

This is key in your own race because, God wants us to understand what He already knows, we are made uniquely in His image and our path and progress won’t resemble anyone else’s. Therefore, as long as we are going at the pace He sets for us, there is no reason for us to want to speed up, catch up, or mimic what others are doing. God is only asking us to remain obedient and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

- Have you taken a moment to sit and just listen to God? Have you taken a moment to inventory what it is that God is saying to you and the plan that He has for you?

When we spend our time listening to what the world is saying and watching what they are doing, then we have exchanged who the source of our direction is. Because we find ourselves trying to measure up to an expectation that was never ours. So then we truly lose ourselves along the way and begin to detour the path and go in a direction that isn’t for us.

- God’s design for you is specific. The beautiful thing is, God already has people who will be impacted by what God puts inside of you and the story you will share. There isn’t anything that can change the plan, and, as Pastor said yesterday, if it has your name on it, then it is yours.

It is important to insert the image of David trying to fit Saul’s armor in the Bible. There isn’t a cookie-cutter way to do this thing called ministry and service for God. There are fundamentals in the Bible, and there is a foundation set through the word, but there isn’t a path that is better than another, there is only obedience. David was ineffective with the armor, not because he wasn’t supposed to fight the battle, but because the tool to fight the battle was wrong. To them, it had to look like what they were used to, to God, it had to be what he designed for David’s victory. This is God-Speed!

- How often are you spending time in the word? The Bible says that the word is alive, and sharper than a two-edge sword. That is why, as you read, all these things start being deposited into your heart, your mind, into your spirit. Because you have opened the source of direction for your life and the Lord is able to pour into who you are designed to be.

The Bible verse that is foundational for this month talks about the word of God being the lamp. Walking in the dark, running in the dark, is no fun. Imagine trying to do so after anyone else trying to fit in those footprints? Let the footprints guide you, don’t turn them into a mold you are trying to fit. God wants you to move at the rhythm of His voice over your life, so stop trying to be like, and start doing as – He will continue to lead the way!

Let 2025 be your God-Speed year! You will see the GREATER things God has for you!

Pastor Lourdes Hernandez

Center of Life.CDV - Florida

Founder of Kingdom Swords