Today, I'm re-sharing a word about this being a "finishing season" and 25 lessons God taught me that may help you in this new year.
1. Lean Into Discomfort
Growth happens when we move outside places that are familiar, predictable, and comfortable. If you're not regularly doing something that scares you or makes you feel like a total imposter, you're probably living too small.
It's never too late to reinvent yourself or try something new. You don't have to keep doing something just because it's been a certain way for a long time.
If the way you're doing life isn't working, make a Spirit-empowered shift.
2. Know That He Is Involved in Every Detail
God is intimately and intricately involved in the details of your life. There is nothing He does not see. There is nothing He can't do. He is at work in people, situations, places, and hearts, working all things together for your good and His glory.
3. Don't Limit Yourself
Often we think of decisions as being "either/or." In many cases, God would say, "It's both/and."
Don't limit yourself or God to a very narrow range of possibilities. You are empowered and equipped to do so much more than you realize.
4. Understand That You Won't Make Sense of Some Seasons Until They Are Finished
At the time, all you can see is chaos, confusion, messiness, hurt, and heartache. But as you look back later, you see that the pain and pressure had a very defined purpose.
You wouldn't be where you are today if you hadn't walked through that.
5. Get Really Specific in Your Prayers
Vague, general prayers get general answers. Specific prayers are more likely to move the heart and hand of God. Plus, He gets greater glory when you see those prayers answered!
If Jesus stood in front of you today and asked, "What do you want Me to do for you?" how would you answer?
6. Create a Life That You Don't Need to Constantly Escape From
Build a house that you would want to inhabit.
If your life is a story that is being written, make it one that's worth reading.
Life is short. Don't waste it. Invest your days in things that matter and bring meaning.
7. Accept Responsibility for Your Own Actions and Decisions
God is sovereign, but you are responsible for your own actions and decisions.
Don't expect God to do things that He has called you to do. And don't try to do things that only He can do.
8. Discern Your Difference
What enters a room when you enter, and what leaves the room when you leave?
Most of us reject our difference. We want to be like everyone else. We want to fit in. But your difference could be the thing that God has anointed you to do.
9. Know That Your Identity Shapes Your Reality
How you see yourself will have a huge impact on what you do, your relationships, and your willingness to try something new.
When you see how God sees you, it changes everything. That's also why the enemy will always challenge your identity. He will seek to make you undervalue your life and diminish the impact you are making. (Photo via Pexels)
10. Go Deeper
Most people live at a surface and superficial level. Going deeper will set you apart from the majority.
Go deeper in your walk with God. Go deeper in your study of the Word. Go deeper in prayer. Go deeper in your relationships. Go deeper in your conversations. Go deeper in your consecration.
11. You Will Never Feel Ready—Do It Anyway
Even if it's really messy at the beginning, doing will always beat procrastinating. Plus, you're more ready than you realize.
12. Know That God Is Your Source
The resources in my life come from many different places. But ultimately everything comes from Him. That means I live with gratitude, responsibility, and a heart of generosity.
13. If Something Really Isn't Working, Don't Keep Doing It
Life is too short to keep expending your best energy into areas that aren't bringing any return on your investment.
Invest your life into things that will bear fruit and bring fulfillment.
14. If You're Stuck, Do Something Different
Most of us will never get unstuck by repeating the same behaviors over and over again. We'll just get more frustrated and hopeless.
"Stuckness" is an invitation to grow in some area of your life. That means you've got to be willing to stretch.
Do something new. Push beyond old boundaries and self-imposed limitations.
15. Understand That Action Brings Clarity
You can make lists and ruminate and contemplate all day long, but often taking action is the best way to find the way forward. It's easier to redirect a moving vehicle than a stationary one.
16. Don't Try to Change People Who Want to Stay the Same
Don't try to change people who want to stay the same; you will both get frustrated.
Some people simply want their life to stay as it is. Or they're unwilling to make the difficult choices or sacrifices to make it different.
You can't change anyone but yourself.
17. Surround Yourself with People Who Are at the "Next Level"
Find people who are further on than you in an area where you want to excel or grow.
Getting around them will open your eyes to possibilities, provide new opportunities, and may save you many painful mistakes.
18. Learn to Release and Relinquish
Often we're stuck because we are making decisions that are keeping us where we are.
God is ready, but we are holding onto things that we cannot take with us.
Unless we release and relinquish some things, we will end up frustrated, bored, and wondering why nothing is working out.
19. Find a Work Rhythm That Is Effective for You
For the first six months of 2024, I took very little time off. As well as leading a growing church, I wrote two books and mentored hundreds of people online. Then I took a complete two-month break with my family and traveled around Australia.
For me, that rhythm worked. For others, it would be too much (or simply not possible).
Find a pattern of work and play that enables you to be productive without burning out.
20. Bless God in Every Circumstance
Things will happen in life which you can never plan for or anticipate.
This past year we experienced some unexpected, painful losses that caused us to grieve deeply. We also had some beautiful surprises that reminded us of the abundant goodness of God. (Photo via Pexels)
No year is perfect. No year is totally terrible.
Bless God in every circumstance. He is always faithful.
21. Recognize That Your Passions and Desires Will Change Over Time
You will stop loving things that used to bring great joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment. And your heart will be drawn to new things.
That's okay. Very few things in life are meant to be permanent.
Let go of the old. Lean into the new.
22. Create More Than You Consume
The amount of time you waste scrolling social media and going down rabbit holes could be spent writing, deepening friendships, learning a new skill, creating content that will impact other people, etc.
Put the phone away. Limit your time on your devices. Go back to paper and a pen. Get out the treasure that God has placed inside you.
23. Remember That Everyone Has an Opinion, but Only a Few Matter
When you start to make changes in your life, not everyone will like it. Normally they won't say much, but you can tell that they resent your growth.
Don't shrink back down to accommodate those who want to live a small, shrunken existence.
24. Know That You Need a Future Vision for Your Life
You need a compelling future vision for your life, something that you're moving towards. Something that makes you jump up out of bed each morning. Something that ignites a passion in your soul.
Those without a vision for the future will keep retreating back to their past.
Vision brings direction and purpose to your life.
God has a vision for your life. Seek Him and find it.
25. Every Season Contains a Blessing and a Burden
Life is rarely perfect. Even though you could be experiencing great things in one area of your life, there are probably challenges in another. That's just life. We must live in the tension of enjoying the good while navigating the trials.
This is a time of new beginnings, both in the natural and also in the spiritual. The LORD is bringing many of the last season's assignments to a conclusion.
You may experience some tension because you know that your time in this area is coming to close. Yet, it may not feel as if you have completed it, or that everything was completed as you hoped/planned. But the Lord would still say, "This is finished. Well done."
You faithfully stewarded what He gave you. You did everything you could with the resources and time that you had.
Hear Him say again, "Well done!"
Don't overstay in an attempt to tie up every loose end. Some issues may feel unresolved and some tasks undone. You may not get complete closure. That's okay.
When God clearly opens the exit door... walk confidently through it. Trust Him, even if you can't see a clear way forward.
Something new is beginning to emerge on the other side. This is a finishing season.
So, finish well. And hear Him say, "Well done."
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build..." (Ecclesiastes 3:1–3)
"Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means." (2 Corinthians 8:11)
"...my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me..." (Acts 20:24)
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Craig Cooney
HOPE Church | Daily Prophetic
Email:Â contactdailyprophetic@gmail.com
Website:Â dailyprophetic.com
Craig Cooney has been in ordained ministry for over fifteen years, leading churches in the north and south of Ireland. He is married to Becky, and they have a son named Elijah, as well as a labradoodle puppy named Henry. Craig is the author of four books: "The Tension of Transition," "SPIRIT SPEAK," "I Hear Yahweh," and "When the Lamb Roars." His passion is to help Believers to hear God's voice for themselves and apply God's wisdom as they navigate through the transitions of life.
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