2019: A Year of Amazingly New

As 2019 approaches, the Lord continues to speak to me about preparing to receive the NEW. We call it the New Year and I believe those words will be more true than usual as 2019 is positioned to be a year of seeing the AMAZINGLY NEW manifest.

We have been in a season of preparation to position us to receive what the Father is pouring out. We have heard or received repeated words for breakthrough, but many experienced things that felt like anything but breakthrough. In many cases, the process of breakthrough has not looked like what we expected. We focus on the end result, but God usually focuses on the process. Even the word "breakthrough" suggests a somewhat violent process as it begins with the word "break". Something has to break for you to go through!

Breakthroughs can manifest supernaturally, but many times it is hard work, and a step by step process. Our obedience and cooperation with the Spirit of God is an essential part of breakthrough. In my own life, there have been times where I "stalled out" and kept wondering why things weren't moving forward for me. Sometimes after prayer and the Holy Spirit's leading, I would find that it was because I had dropped the ball with the simple instructions He had given me. God is incredibly gracious and patient with us, but our process will not move forward if we are unwilling to follow the simple steps of obedience He gives to us.

OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW!

There is an important "leaving behind" process that we will experience to prepare us to embrace the new. We can unknowingly cling to the old when God may be saying, "It's time to let go of the old so I can give you the new". As a parent, there were times when I wanted to give something good to one of my children, but I couldn't do that until they let go of what they were holding. It's sometimes like that in our journey with God. We are hungry and yearning for the new, and all the while God is waiting for us to let go of the old so we can fully take hold of the new.

It is a time to shake off the grave clothes of this past season and emerge into the new that God has planned. God is replacing old operating systems with brand new operating systems. He wants to update our present mental software so we can be ready to run when the new operating system is installed. Things are shifting and changing so quickly that it will be evident when we try functioning with the old software. It just won't work!

Jesus talked about something very similar in Mark 2:21-22: "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins."

God began speaking to me about "New Wine" several months ago. There is a preparation process when we are expecting new wine. It is time to get the new wineskins ready! "New" is going to be a theme for this coming year because there will be so many things we have never seen, heard of, or even imagined as the days unfold revealing His glory. I believe there will be new inventions, new discoveries, and new books on the horizon. And just as exciting, will be new breakthroughs in healings, miracles, and salvations.

So, we say "YES" to the plans on your heart, Father. We let go of our old ways of thinking and old ways of doing and we embrace the NEW that you are pouring out. Give us ears to hear and hearts that are quick to obey and embrace the NEW WINE.