The Tribune

By Rev Angela C Bosfield Palacious

IF you could have one thing for sure this year, what would you want?

Perhaps you have a vague dream that has not fully materialised even in your mind. You may already have a firm plan of action and you are pressing toward your goal. Perhaps you are wrestling with a dream that someone else has for you and is funding as opposed where your heart wants to lead you. You may have absolutely no idea what you want or how to determine what the next step should be to begin to conceive some kind of plan.

One way to begin is to ponder the lessons of 2016 and see what you would like to repeat and what you would avoid like the plague. Then, you can consider some of the “what if” thoughts concerning the pursuit of a past success.

You may choose to attend a group session to create a vision board so that you can begin to visualize the future that contains some of your priorities and preferences for the year. The best way, however, is to be still before the Lord and ask God to share God’s dreams with you in reflective meditation.

We may come to a similar conclusion as the psalmist in Psalm 27:5-8 :

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.”

From this search may come answers about worship, identity, purpose, ministry and direction, or we may discover more questions that take us to another level altogether.

At other times, our destiny calls out to us and we are invited to respond with a resounding “yes”.

Perhaps God is calling you to want what God wants right now which is more labourers to go in parts of the Bahamian “vineyard:”

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.(Matthew 4:18-22).”

Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?

One thing that Jesus wanted was to please His heavenly Father and offer us eternal salvation: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralysed; and he healed them (Matthew 4:23-24).”

John the Baptist’s arrest was his signal that his ministry needed to begin and his message was also “repent”.

At this time, we may have personal goals and dreams but there is something else we all should want. We need to desire with all of our hearts the love and harmony that is so vital for our children’s growth and our nation’s development. Our prayers should be for unity as we work to heal and bless our community, even as St Paul longed to see in the Corinthian church: “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought (1 Cor. 1:10).”

What is the one thing you want now? I pray that your dreams are all worth pursuing and that they include the attaining of God’s goals as well.