Leaving 2019 Behind

2 more day and we will be in a brand new year, brand new decade. Have you heard of this phrase before?

“How we leave is how we enter”

I have ex-colleagues who left the company with bitterness and hatred. They subsequently started their own business and got cheated by people. Their companies folded with many customers losing all their investment. They ended in shame and failure. (These are different people who left during different times and started different ventures. Same result).

This is also the same in relationships isn’t it? Our circumstances may change but we didn’t change. We bring our hurts and pain into the new relationship. We make the our new partner pay for the mistakes of the previous relationships. It isn’t fair but we do that all the time without knowing it. Which is why we need God to heal our hearts after a divorce or a bad breakup.

Do we want to bring our hurts, bitterness and mistakes into 2020?

What to leave behind?

There are a few things that I believe we need to let go before we cross over into 2020.

Our Regrets

Do you have any regrets in 2019? Regrets often comes when we did something we shouldn’t have or we didn’t do what we should have. It brings guilt and condemnation. My friend lost her boyfriend to stage 4 lung cancer in March this year. He died while the doctors were doing a simple scope. It was supposed to be a small procedure but he coughed and the impact ruptured his artery. They could not save him. Her last text to him that morning before he went for the procedure was “I’m busy.. working now”. It took her many months to forgive herself.

I do not know about your situation. It could be a bad comment that you made and resulted in a broken friendship. It could be your uncontrollable outburst of anger that caused your partner to finally decide to leave. It could be a bad investment decision that caused you to lose a lot of money. Whatever it is, I want to encourage you to leave it in 2019. Stop beating yourself up. Stop reliving those moments. It is proven that the more we beat ourselves up, the more we keep doing the same thing. Many of us are punishing ourselves for things we did 10 years ago!

Ask Holy Spirit to come in to that situation and bring healing to your soul. Ask Him for a Word for your situation. Forgive those who you need to forgive. If you are addicted to something (especially drugs), ask for professional help. Take steps to becoming a better person instead of repeating the same mistakes.

Our Failures

Did you fail in some areas you set out to succeed in 2019? You were so sure that God is with you and He is the One who led you to the business or relationship? Well, I did! 2019 was my worst year in business in 13 years. I failed so badly. I tried everything I can to close whatever deals I can. But all I had was closed doors. Doors were slammed right in my face. Finances were so tight and I often cry out to God for deliverance. You know what? I am letting it behind me. Failure is not my identity and I forgave myself. I could have done better. I could have use a different approach with my customers. I could have… Blah blah blah…. It is ok. I am willing to let it go. God is still faithful. He still provide for me but not in the way I expected it to be. It humbled me and taught me that my business and clients are not my source. God is my source.

Let go of your failures in 2019. Whatever they are, bring it before God. Let go of all the “could have” and “what if”. Learn from it and be thankful for the lessons. God is still on the throne. What is he saying about your circumstances? Find out! Open your bible!

Our Mindset

• Worldly/old mindset. If we still have a mindset that was of the world, eg. poverty mindset, lustful mindset, limiting mindset, etc. They do not belong to believers like us. We need to renew our minds with the Word of God. We need to let His Words cleanse us and purify us. When we have a poverty/limiting mindset, we always think in “lack” and “fear”. This is not of God and will keep us in bondage. We refuse to take risk and often stay in the comfort zone. We can’t grow. If you have that, I want to encourage you to let it go. Make a decision to change the way you think. Ask Holy Spirit to reveal to you what are the old mindset that you need to change. Only He knows.
• Mindset that used to work. God is always doing a new thing. We cannot limit Him with what happened this year. God may have blessed you in a certain way or through a certain method. That doesn’t mean He will do the same thing the same way. That is why we need to look to Him for direction and do not assume things will always works the same way. The world is constantly changing. If you stay with God, You will be ahead of the curve! He knows the future! In 2020, He is bringing you through a new route. Watch out!

Gratitude

Now let us practice gratitude. No matter how is 2019, we can be thankful for what we have! It’s a good thing to practice gratitude everyday when we wake up. Thank Him for He is so so good. Preset the day to be joyful and happy. Preset the day to be victorious.

2019 is over soon. Let’s us put down the baggages that weigh us down. Be like Joshua and the children of Israel when they cross the river Jordan. Praise the Lord for all he has done!