Jacob Mathew

We have left the year 2002 behind in many ways, but some of us are still very much part of the past year. We had an opportunity to look back and reflect on the goodness of the Lord during the closing days of December and especially on 31st. I believe all the memories of past year were not all happy ones; I bet we have had incidents of shame, guilt and sorrows. Times of failures and frustrations filled the days of 2002 in the lives of many others. I have come across many people who are stuck in the memories of the past and such are the people who “grow old” each year instead of “growing up”. We tend to live in the glory of the past and often talk about the “good old days” when world was a much better place to live in and make a living. Many have embraced the New Year with uncertainty, willing to receive whatever life offers them. So sad to read about the gloom that’s prevailing in the Christian ministry in India, which is over reacting to the recent developments in the government’s attitude towards the conversion and religious activities as a whole. We tend to believe that certain governments favor the church of Christ and others hinder the growth and fellowship of the church. Let us keep in mind that no government on earth can actually make any difference in the plan and the purpose of God, and it’s nice to remember the old Sunday school song “He’s got the whole world in His hand” to dispel any fear you and I may have about the future of the world. The government is upon His shoulders. On the whole, it has not been a good year for many people economically. Many have lost their jobs or had to take a pay cut and still others could not find a decent job to pay their bills. As a ministry we have seen a slump in the income compared to previous years. All these things have almost pushed me to the corner and there I was about to say ‘It’s not going to be any different than the year 2002”.

God had to jerk me out of that pessimistic thinking, because He knew it would affect me and also many thousands whom I come in contact this year. God led me to the book of Joshua and that little phrase, “you have never been this way before before” [Joshua 3:4] and it has changed my perspective for the year 2003. What you and I expect is what we are familiar with,what our guts tells us, what make sense to us, and often that is not worth much when we think about the challenges and demands of the New Year. So God wants us to expect something new, different, away from the ordinary, something He alone understands for the New Year. God wanted the people to step out of their positions when they see the Ark of the Covenant. Only them that step out will see the new way, only them that attempt great things for God can expect great things from God. When Moses saw the burning bush, he went closer to see what it was all about. And when the Lord saw Moses coming close, He called from the bush, Moses, Moses.When Philip obeyed the promptings of the Holy Spirit and went to meet the Ethiopian eunuch, his return travel was in a vehicle which no man on earth can even imagine. We can say that he ‘never travelled that way before’. Elijah never expected he could compete with the chariots and win, but that’s what this new way of God means. God doesn’t want your life to be monotonous but dynamic and vibrant. He wants you to live in expectation each day and never in gloom. It also doesn’t mean that you stay passive for the show; instead he wants you to be the violent seeker who takes the privileges of the Kingdom by force. This is the year of the violent seekers, knockers and claimers. You have to move out of your positions, your comfort zones. I pray that you and I experience a holy frustration with the present situations, ministry, life, and fellowship. And let us hunger and thirst for a deeper walk with God at a level we have never walked before. Enoch started walking with God after his son was born. He longed for a closer relationship with God and God had to translate him to a higher plane. Let me close here with the words of the hymn, ….“a higher plane, than I have found, Lord plant my feet on higher ground”. So I would say to all of you “go right ahead in to the year 2003, be willing to move out of your positions, and you will walk in ways you have never walked before. It may not be all happy roads but it sure is God’s plan and the end will justify the means. Don’t be scared to walk the new road in 2003. Please note that, you are walking with Him. He said he would never leave you nor forsake you. He also said, if He begins a good work in you, He will complete it.