Manning Pastor Sam Livingston: Embrace it

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Each New Year is accompanied with challenges, opportunities and blessings. The year 2022 represents a time to embrace. When we embrace something, we figure out how to hold on to it. When we embrace a person with a holy hug, we lean over to avoid a full-body contact. When we embrace our spouse or significant other, we want to embrace them fully with much affection. How we embrace something speaks volume in regard to how passionate we are about it.

This is the year to embrace what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives, in our ministries, families, business life, etc. We have spent decades avoiding the real move of God in our lives. Embrace your gifts, your callings, your fears, etc. When we embrace our fears, we figure out how to get the upper hand on them. When we embrace our calling, we are submitting to the will of God for our lives. The result of your challenges this year starts with how you embrace the challenges you are currently dealing with.

Most of us have fears of certain things or situations that we would rather not have to deal with. Often times those fears are preventing us from advancing. This is a challenge from me to you that the time is now to embrace your fears, especially those that are preventing you from reaching your goals in life. I am often reminded of that message the Apostle Paul gave to young Timothy, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind," 2 Timothy 1:7.

Fear is not an attribute given to us by God. Fear is an adversarial tactic design to prevent us from advancing into the person we are called to be. Grab hold of your fears and hang on to them long enough to figure out how to eliminate them permanently. Come on, you can do this, the angels are waiting to execute at your command. Your computer is not a monster; conquer your fears and sit down with your children and/or grandchildren and learn the basic operational commands. Technology should not be a deterrent but the gateway to opportunities to help you reach your destiny. This is the year to embrace!

Some of us have allowed wedges to remain within our families for way too long. Begin to embrace them one by one until they have all been resolved. Work with every family member needed to get your arms around each situation until some type of resolution is made. You don't need to spend another day at odds with your family. Our loved ones are dying too fast; please make the best out of every situation.

This year of embracing means that there are assignments given to the angels to be on guard to assist you every time you execute an action to constitute change. Step through all of your fears and embrace the process of restoration. Until you accept that you are plagued with certain fears, you cannot begin to conquer them.

The greatest tragedy in life is to never embrace the very things you were placed on this earth to do. Stop criticizing others for fulfilling their purposes and place that energy on pursuing your purpose in life. Your best years may be ahead of you, but you will never know until you embrace the challenges.

Embracing your challenges does not mean that everything will go as plan. In fact, you may fail a few times, but each effort should make you both stronger and wiser. Please do not give up on God because he will never give up on you.

Don't miss your opportunities this year!

In God We Trust.

Sam Livingston is pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Manning.