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Greetings!
It’s a new year. Thank God. Out with the old, and in with the new.
January is often when we promise ourselves that this year will be different. Millions of New Year’s resolutions are made each year, yet most fade by April, only to be revived again the following January.
Sometimes, our New Year reflection goes deeper than resolutions. We find ourselves asking why certain things we’ve prayed for — sometimes for years — still haven’t materialized. Maybe it’s praying for more financial stability, a thriving business, a promotion, marriage, or a new job. When nothing seems to change, we often conclude that God has said “no,” or perhaps “not now.”
But has He?
The reality is, sometimes we are our own block.
Jesus said, “Every tree that wasn’t planted by my Father in heaven will be pulled up by its roots” (Matthew 15:13 MSG).
Let me share a personal example of one such tree.
As many of you know, I left my corporate position last January and started my consulting business a few months later. I had clients — some large, some small — but the money wasn’t coming in.
Why? Because I wasn’t charging them.
I wasn’t invoicing my larger clients at all, and for the smaller ones, I told them they didn’t need to pay me. “It’s small,” I said. “It’s easy.”
It was our very own Sis. Louise who talked some sense into me. She asked why I wouldn’t charge for services rendered — especially when I was helping people. My answer was simple: It didn’t feel right.
That was the tree. But from where and when was it planted?
As a child, I often heard my mother say that her event planning skills and homemade ice cream weren’t “good enough” to charge for, because they were easy for her to do. Those words had settled into me and stayed there for decades, unnoticed — until I found myself in a position where I needed to charge people directly for my work.
That was how that tree got planted. It wasn't intentional. It wasn't even necessarily bad. But it was not from God, and it was blocking me.
Thankfully, trees like that can be uprooted. As I renewed my mind with God’s truth — meditating on Scriptures like Luke 10:7, Leviticus 19:13, and 1 Timothy 5:18 — something shifted. Within a week, one of my larger clients insisted on paying me thousands of dollars for services that I hadn't even invoiced as yet. Soon after, I gained a new (small) client — and this time, I charged them. And it felt great!
God wasn’t holding out on me. I was the block.
Sometimes we pray for abundance and wonder why it hasn’t come. But it may be that our thinking is too limited. This limited thinking undermines our capacity to receive big things.
In 2 Kings 4:3–7, we read about a widow in distress whose husband died, leaving her in debt. When the prophet Elisha asked what she had of value to sell to repay the debt, she replied that all she had was a "small jar of olive oil." Elisha told her to borrow empty jars from all her neighbors and said, "Don't ask for just a few."
He told her to go into a closed room and begin to pour. As she began to pour, her small jar of olive oil continued to flow until every empty jar was filled. The oil only stopped flowing when there were no more jars to fill.
Her supply stopped when her capacity did.
God cannot pour a gallon-sized blessing into a teaspoon-sized capacity. We must increase our capacity.
So, yes, this January, let’s eat better, save more, reconnect with loved ones, and join the gym. But if you’ve been waiting on a promise from God for a long time, don’t stop believing.
There may be trees of unworthiness, fear, or feeling undeserving that took root in you through past experiences — trees not planted by God that limit you. They need to be uprooted to create capacity for you to receive the promise.
But be encouraged. All the promises of God are "yea" and "Amen." He's not holding out on you.
Amen.
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