A new year usually offers hope to many. If you have failed to achieve your goals in 2023, the new year brings with it some renewal of that hope. You may start hoping that just maybe 2024 can be that year for you where you can come out at the other end with all your goals smashed.

If you are a Christian however, you already know that you cannot afford to do things in the way the world does them. God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).

As much as we want to hit all our goals, we must always take a step back to ask if our goals align with God’s purpose for our life. It is important to always remember that achieving all your goals is not in any way a confirmation that it is God’s will for you.

Anyone can achieve their goals. You do not need to know God to do so.

However, if you want to live a life that pleases God, you must set goals that align with God’s will for you.

Someone may say, How do I know God’s will for me?

The most important way we understand God’s will is through His Word. There is no understanding of God’s will outside his Word.

A man who is committed to knowing God’s will for his life is a man who is committed to God’s word.

For example, 1 Thessalonians 5:12 says
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Through God’s word, we learn that thanking him is his will.

So you want to do God’s will? Take a 60-second break now and spend it thanking God.

What have you just done? You just did God’s will. Simple, isn’t it?

As you have thanked God, God is pleased with you because you have just done his will.

But how would we have known this if we do not read his Word? I will therefore love to encourage you to make 2024 the year of God’s Word.

I know you may have received different declarations for the year from your local church assembly. In addition to that, I believe what can bring you the most fruit is a commitment to God’s word.

Someone may say, I have planned that 2024 will be my year to pray more. That is amazing and I am glad you have decided to be more prayerful.

Here is the truth. I believe you can achieve even more success if you make the commitment to study God’s word even more.

Consider this.

If you make a commitment to pray, then you may place less importance on studying God’s word.
On the other hand, it is impossible for you to be a student of the Word and not be committed to prayer.

Many Christians waste countless hours praying about things they should not pray about because they have not been students of the word.

Consider John 15:7
But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

This is an instruction from Jesus himself.

You want your prayers answered in 2024? Jesus says His Word needs to abide in you for that to happen. Don’t just go praying without getting an understanding of what you should pray about, how to pray, how to receive your answers, and how to remain in your answers.

All these and more are things that will become clearer to you as you spend time in God’s word.

You may say, “But I already read my Bible. I make sure I read one chapter everyday”

Again. This is amazing and thank God you already have such devotion. However, if that is all you do, you may not be able to get the kind of results I am talking about.

Remember how you studied when you were a student?

You didn’t just read a few pages of your textbooks. Instead, you made an attempt to master the subjects. You knew you had mastered it when you could seamlessly explain it to your colleagues.

There shouldn’t be any less commitment to God’s word.

You should be able to understand the different concepts of Christianity well enough for you to be able to communicate it.

What is God’s grace? What was Jesus’s mission? Why did Jesus have to come?
How do we receive from God? What is faith? How can I be healed? What is God’s kind of love?

These are some examples of questions you should be able to answer and you will agree that just reading a chapter of the Bible a day won’t help you get there any quicker.

Paul, in his letter to Timothy, said to him in 2 Tim 2:15:
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

You can only rightly divide the word of truth if you study.

You may need to read more than a chapter some days. You may need to compare scripture with scripture. You may sometimes need to listen to respected teachers of God’s word. You may need to keep a note you can always turn to for reference. You may need to listen to sermons much more than the once a week you usually get on Sundays.

This is exactly what the devil does not want.

As long as the devil can keep you away from God’s word, he will. In fact, if his only way to keep you away from God’s word is to keep you busy praying, then I am sure he will take it as a win.

This is because he knows there is no greater force than God’s word.

I encourage you to make a commitment today to value God’s word in 2024 and I believe it will be your best year yet.

Have an amazing 2024