Ephesians 5:²⁰ “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

How do we make sure that we take hold of a plane, a horizon that God has set before us, embrace it with all that we have, and get the best out of it? We can learn a lot of things from the life of Father Abraham. We are going to learn five things from Abraham’s life on how to embrace the horizon. The first thing is that Abraham lived thankfully. Live Thankfully. God had told Abraham to leave his homeland and that He, God, would make him a great nation, even though Abraham didn’t have a child. Abraham could have been disgruntled and grumbled legitimately. Abraham could have said, “God, where are you?” Abraham could have said things like, “I was doing okay in my father’s house, just minding my business. But you asked me to come to walk with you and see where I am now…”.

However, we see in Scripture that Abraham lived thankfully and was not disgruntled. In the remaining days of this year, you have to be deliberate to live thankfully. It is easy to slip into a place where you are distraught, disgruntled, and not thankful. It is so easy to slip into a place where you are looking at the things that God has not done, or God said He would do and has not done yet. It is easy to slip into a place where you are looking at the things you set as goals since January when the year started and are still before you. Abraham lived thankfully and that is so powerful because later on, we see in scriptures that the promises of God eventually came to pass. Listen, God’s promises will come to pass in your life in the Name of Jesus. You will live to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Not only will you hear God’s promise, but you will also see and partake in God’s promise.

1 Thessalonians 5:¹⁸ “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” God’s will for you who belong to Christ is to be thankful in all circumstances. So, regardless of the circumstance or the situation, be thankful. When you are thankful, you are enacting and manifesting God’s will. And as you manifest God’s will, God’s ultimate will that you desire will happen because you are smack in the middle of God’s will in gratitude. When scripture says be thankful in all circumstances, it means that you are on the front foot. Being unthankful or disgruntled puts you on the back foot of life where you are reacting or depressed. But thanksgiving and gratitude put you on the front foot. Abraham lived thankfully. Be deliberate about living thankfully. Psalm 50:¹⁴ “Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God….”

Prayer: Father, in the Name of Jesus, regardless of how this year has been, I give You thanks because You are good, and Your goodness endures forever. Amen!

Psalm 25:^4-5 “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you”

Every year comes with a freshness, an excitement that is unexplainable. I am sure we are all familiar with the feeling. In fact, there was a time I used to say to myself that it was just an emotional thing. But even at those times, I could not deny the newness, freshness, renewed hope, passion, zeal, and possibilities that come with the New Year. As palpable as it was and we all experienced it with a lot of excitement. However, before long, right about this time of the year, everything fades. It is as though we are back to business as usual, life as normal, everyday grind, and routine. However, God expects us to sustain the momentum throughout the year and use it as a springboard, not relapse into the usual routine.

God expects us to milk the newness, if you will, and get the best out of the entire year. God expects us to embrace the horizon. When the year is set before us, God expects us to embrace the year and take hold of it. Therefore, to help us realign with God’s heart for the entire year, we are going to look at the story of a life that is always giving, the life of Father Abraham. Abraham’s life has blessed us, and it continues to bless us. We are going to draw freshness and insight anew from his story and his Covenant with God, of which we are beneficiaries.

Hebrews 11:^8-10 “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.” The King James Version says he looked for a city whose builder and maker is God. Abraham stepped out and embraced the horizon with his two hands and legs despite all the uncertainty that comes with it. According to the scriptures, he was living in tents with his son, Isaac, and his grandson Jacob. Abraham probably said to them, “The God of Heaven spoke to me. He led me to do this and has told us to embrace this newness.”

Isaac must have had friends who were living in proper houses, while he and his father were living in tents. Yet, his father was telling him God has given us this entire land. Eventually, we see that the life of Abraham was filled with the fulfilment of God’s blessings. The question is, how do we ensure that we get the best that God has for us in every year?

Prayer: Father, realign me to Your blueprint for this year, in Jesus Name. Amen!