This Year, My Heart Trusts (A Declaration Of Faith For The New Season)

THIS YEAR, MY HEART TRUSTS

A DECLARATION OF FAITH FOR THE NEW SEASON

Psalm 28:7

INTRODUCTION

Church, I want to take you back to the wilderness of Beersheba. Picture a desperate mother and her dying son. Hagar sits beneath a shrub, weeping because she does not want to watch Ishmael die. She has run out of water. She has run out of hope. She has run out of options. The boy cries out in thirst, and death circles them like a vulture waiting for its prey.

But then God shows up.

Genesis 21:17-19 tells us God heard the voice of the boy. The Angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is." Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. The same wilderness that threatened their lives became the place of divine provision. The same desert that looked like a graveyard became a place of promise. Before the encounter, Hagar saw only death. After the encounter, she saw provision, purpose, and promise.

This is where many of you are standing right now. You have walked through a season that has left you depleted, discouraged, and doubting. You have cried out until your voice grew hoarse. You have looked at your situation and seen only impossibility. But I declare to you today that God is about to open your eyes to see what has been there all along. He is about to transform your wilderness into a place of wonder. He is about to turn your mourning into dancing.

Psalm 28:7 gives us the anchor for this new season: "The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him." David wrote these words from a place of triumph, not theory. He knew what trusting God looked like when enemies surrounded him. He knew what faith felt like when circumstances screamed defeat. He knew that when your heart trusts in the Lord, transformation follows.

Today, we declare together: This year, my heart trusts. Not because everything makes sense. Not because the path is clear. Not because the battle is over. But because the God who opened Hagar's eyes to see the well is the same God who watches over you today.

A. I WILL EMBRACE THE NEW (HOPE AND RENEWAL)

Isaiah 43:19 asks us a piercing question: "Behold, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it?" God is not asking if the new thing is happening. The new thing is already springing forth. He is asking if you have the spiritual eyes to perceive it.

Many believers miss their miracles because they keep looking for God to repeat old patterns. You want God to bless you the way He blessed you five years ago. You want God to move the way He moved in your parents' generation. But God says, "I am doing a NEW thing." Stop looking in the rearview mirror when God is doing something fresh right in front of you.

Consider the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5. The Syrian commander had leprosy and wanted healing. He came to Elisha expecting a spectacular show. He expected the prophet to come out, wave his hand, call on the name of the Lord, and make the leprosy disappear. Instead, Elisha sent a messenger telling him to go dip seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman almost missed his miracle because God's method did not match his expectations. When he finally humbled himself and embraced the new, unusual way God was working, his flesh became like that of a young boy.

Here is what embracing the new requires:

• Release your grip on the past. Philippians 3:13-14 commands us: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Paul does not say ignore the lessons of the past. He says Forget the failures, the disappointments, and the limitations of yesterday. Your past does not define your future when God is doing a new thing.

• Train your eyes to recognize fresh movements of God. Isaiah 42:9 declares, "See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare. Before they spring into being I announce them to you." God tells you about the new before it fully manifests. He gives you prophetic glimpses. He drops hints in your spirit. He stirs your heart with holy restlessness. When you feel that divine discontent with where you are, when you sense God is shifting something inside you, embrace it. Do not resist the new wine because you are comfortable with old wineskins.