Chosen Grace

Hello everyone!! I am so blessed to be writing you all in this new year. We have offically made it into 2025 and it feels surreal to be honest.

As we are all embracing this new month and year, I’m sure each of you reading this has a list of things that they want to accomplish. Maybe they sound a bit like this:

Go to the gym more.

Drink less sodas.

Read 5 books.

Call home more.

Engage in a self care activity once a month.

See my friends at least twice a year.

…and the list could go on and on. I, for one, have my own personal resolutions and plans that I desire to accomplish and really want to see them through.

While we all strive to accomplish something new in a new season and new year, it is important that we don’t run ahead of God’s plans for our lives. What I mean is, when we are planning our our ideas for what we want to accomplish in this new year, we must take a pause and seek God’s will for us. Let’s take a look at Scripture:

Commit your work to the Lord,
    and your plans will be established.

–Proverbs 16:3, ESV

You see, King Solomon spoke nothing but truth in the Scripture above. As I noted earlier, each of us has at least one thing that we want to accomplish during this new year. However, as the verse above points out, we should commit our work to the Lord, first.

The reason why this is so important is that when we submit our plans to God, He then purifies them. He refines our ideas and, in turn, gives us beauty for our ashes. (Isaiah 61:3). When we allow God into our plans, we can’t go wrong. After all, they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength (Isaiah 40:28-31).

Over this last year, I have experienced this firsthand. Halfway through the year, God asked me to give up something and someone that I really wanted a part of my life. As I wrote in Let Go of Your Ishmael, the Lord asked me to give up something I really cared about and was excited about. I resisted God’s direction at first because in my plans – the situation and person fit exactly into my blueprint! I was ready to build, but the Lord had other plans.

And so, I let go. And you guys- that was one of the hardest things I had to endure. I cried…and cried…and cried because I just couldn’t understand why it wouldn’t work. I mean, I had a perfect plan (in my human wisdom).

When I confessed my grievances to God, He first comforted me as a loving Father, and then He gave me guidance and encouraged me with this Scripture:

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.“

— Isaiah 43:18-19, ESV

As God spoke these words to Isaiah centuries ago, He still speaks these words to you and I.

As I was still struggling with committing my plans to God last year, God was already going ahead of me and making the way straight. He had already decided long ago that He was preparing the way for me. Why? Because God is doing a new thing.

Now, I must admit- I have not seen the new thing come to pass yet, but I wait with expectancy. I have hope and joy because I know that my God is not a liar and He will do exactly what He said He would (Numbers 23:19). My God is doing a new thing for me.

I’m sharing all of this with you reading because I know what it’s like to place a desire you have into God’s hands when you don’t want to. Exchanging God’s will for your own is not easy at times. Many times it hurts and is uncomfortable because it is the last thing that we want to do.

But I want to challenge us (me included!) in this new year to exchange our plans for God’s and expect Him to new a new thing. Though it may be difficult, it is never in vain to exchange our will for that of The Lord’s. In fact, if we look in the Bible, we’re in good company:

• Moses left his familiar home in Egypt in order to find His true purpose as the leader of Israel.
• Rahab the spy left her own plans in her home in Jericho in exchange to honor and serve The Only Living God.
• Mary gave up her idea of experiencing a traditional marriage to Joseph before getting pregnant as she accepted the task of birthing the Messiah.
• Abram left his family in pursuit of God’s promise to make him a father of many nations.

There are many more stories than the ones above, but you all get the picture: each of these people exchanged their will for God’s new thing that He had prepared for them. All they had to do was come into agreement.

And all we have to do is come into agreement with God’s plan for us this new year.

As I end the first blog post of 2025, I urge each one of us to write our resolutions, plans, and hopes with God. Invite Him into our space and let Him lead us in what He wants to do. When you do- watch God do a new thing for you!

Remember, God’s new thing is sure to be exceedingly and abundantly more than what we could ever ask, think, or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

With expectancy and hope for God’s new thing,

Malaysia 😉