new year resolutions

“. . . The Joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

Our God is a joyful God, and it is with His joy that we become stronger, more powerful Christians. What is joy? One of the Hebrew words for joy is chedvah, which means “rejoicing, gladness.” In Galatians 5:22, joy is the Greek word chara, which means “cheerfulness, delight.” So, joy helps you worship God, and it makes you glad, cheerful, and a delight to be around. You will even start to like yourself better when you receive God’s joy.

Receive God’s Joy!

You receive the joy of the Lord when you are anointed with the Holy Spirit. This anointing starts at the top of your head and goes all the way to your feet: God begins with your head because your thought life gives you direction—it either gets you in trouble or sets you on the right path.

If you think being righteous means being as sober as a judge, then you haven’t read Acts 2. On the day of Pentecost, the people didn’t appear sober when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit—they acted like they were drunk! People who saw them said, “They are full of new wine” (Acts 2:13). When you are baptized in the Spirit and receive the anointing, you too will act joyful.

Some get nervous when they see other people respond in joy. They don’t think it’s scriptural, but being jubilant is very scriptural. Psalms 66:1 says, “Make a joyful shout to God.” In fact, there are seven references in the Psalms about making a “joyful noise” to the Lord.

Make a Joyful Noise!

The Hebrew word for joyful in Psalms 66:1 is renanah, which means “shout for joy, singing, triumphing.” Joyful expressions are loud and noisy. Have you ever tried to laugh and keep it all inside? It’s nearly impossible. It’s the same way with the joy that the Holy Spirit places inside you; it has to come bubbling out. Romans 14:17 says, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” If you are moving in the Holy Spirit, you will have the joy that comes with Him.

As a Christian, God calls you to be joyful, Isaiah 51:11 says, “So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” The redeemed are supposed to have so much joy it comes out of their mouths. It is necessary for Christians to be joyful in order to give glory to God and to witness to the lost.

Your Daily Joy

Like your zeal for the Lord and your dedication to keep His commandments, you must commit to daily maintenance of joy. Isaiah 12:3 says, “Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” When Jesus lives in your heart, then you already have joy inside. All you have to do is pull some out every day.

Fullness of joy is found in God’s presence, so start your day by entering into His presence with joy and praise. When you get up in the morning, say, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).

It is also important to watch what you think, say, and do. Proverbs 15:23 says, “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth…”. Watch what you are saying. You can say words that will bring depression into your heart. If you’re not diligent, you can lose your joy! In Psalms 51:12, David said, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation . . .”. He wrote this after he had an affair with Bath-Sheba and had Uriah killed. He lost his joy because of sin; and the same thing can happen to us.

Sometimes it isn’t a major crisis that steals your joy—you lost it because of your own indifference to God. If you don’t read your Bible, don’t pray, don’t set your priorities according to God’s will, or get into sin, then you will not feel the joy of the Lord because you are not dwelling in His presence.

With repentance, God’s joy returns. David knew that his salvation would restore his joy. There is no question that David’s joy returned—he remained a man after God’s own heart and God sent the Messiah through him. Proverbs 15:13 tells us that “by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”

When you focus on heartbreak, you lose your joy. Don’t let problems overcome you; instead let promises take over problems. God wants you to be joyful in times of trouble because the strength found in joy will bring you through your problems. If depression has killed your joy, ask the Holy Spirit to anoint you again. He will resurrect your joyful heart.

The anointing destroys the yoke. If you are depressed, sad, or living under a burden of oppression or circumstances, ask the Holy Spirit to anoint you with joy. God will break those bondages and set you free. According to John 10:10 in the Amplified Bible, Jesus “came that [we] may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” This is the level of blessing that God wants for each of use. When we decide to be led by a joyful heart, strive to joyfully express our love for God, and commit to maintain our joy by seeking God daily, God’s true power can be released—and we can have the overflowing abundance of joy the Word promises.

Happy New Year! I want you to start your new year off with a fresh anointing of joy, miracles, and supernatural supply! When the miracle anointing of God is applied to a need, Scripture teaches us that the “yoke” of that difficult circumstance is broken and removed from your back. The powers of darkness are defenseless. Lying spirits are speechless. The possibilities for supernatural solutions are endless!

Perhaps you are dealing with a deep hurt in your heart—a heartache or heartbreak. In fact, you might feel like you are about to fall apart emotionally. But there is an anointing that can break that yoke!

Maybe you have a physical affliction. Or maybe, like a lot of people, you want to lose weight this year. You have prayed; tried to eat the right things; done everything you know to do and yet, you have a dilemma in this area. What would break that? The anointing! Isaiah 10:27 states:

It shall come to pass in that day

That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder,

And his yoke from your neck,

And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.

You may have awakened this very morning with a longing and yearning for reconciliation in your marriage or with a family member or friend. You’ve asked yourself, “Can the joy come back? Can the love, communication, and happiness return?” The Holy Spirit is directing me to say to you: “The anointing can destroy your yoke of broken and wounded relationships!”

Maybe you are in a financial pit. You feel as though this hole is getting deeper and the chances for your recovery are growing weaker. The anointing can work in the pit and break the yoke of financial difficulty.

I believe this year can mark the start of new anointings for some of the greatest days you’ve ever known in your life. It is possible for you to receive the perfect personal anointing from God for:

• His health, strength, peace, rest, and joy. “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2).
• His supply for your needs, wants, and desires. “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
• His opportunity for you to see dreams come true. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).
• His love in your family, marriage, home, and relationships. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).
• His victory in your spiritual walk. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4).
• His answer for what you’ve been needing from Him. “Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7).

Wouldn’t that be wonderful? It’s more than wonderful, it is altogether possible through the biblical principles of anointing and prayer! When something is anointed, it is tangibly blessed. Therefore, it is empowered to prosper. When the presence of that anointing comes, the curse is removed! Wherever God brings His anointing, those things which were not growing and were failing to be fruitful suddenly blossom and become productive again.

An anointing that comes from God impacts every level of your life. God is still in the anointing business today! And when God want to place an anointing upon you, there is a choice you have to make: you can exercise your faith and receive the anointing, or you can refuse the anointing and try to make it alone. I want you to receive the anointing for miracles in 2024!

Here’s what I want you to do:

1. Get some anointing oil (you can use anything that is available to you—even cooking oil!) and put some on your fingers. Touch and anoint the doors of your house. I want angels to stand guard at each entry of your home and keep the powers of darkness out as the Spirit of God comes in to minister to your every need.
2. Let God lead you as you touch and anoint anything that can link your faith and the power of His anointing to your need! Anoint your checkbook. Anoint the pillows where your children or grandchildren lay their heads. The anointing:
   • Destroys the yoke.
   • Breaks bondages.
   • Stops harassment.
   • Heals hurts.
   • Removes barriers.
   • Dismantles blockades.
   • Lifts the burden from your shoulders, mind, and heart.
3. Find a Scripture that speaks to your needs, wants, and desires, and speak those over your life. If you need help finding a Scripture, there are free, topical lists on my website: https://marilynandsarah.netviewshop.com/shop/MHDL&page=1&rpp=all
4. If you’d like someone from my team to pray for you, please call 888-637-4545 or you can submit your prayer request on my website: https://marilynandsarah.netviewshop.com/prayer

Finally, plant a seed that God can bless! When you give a gift to God and desire a blessing to grow in your life, you give your gift as though it were a seed. That seed must be planted in spiritual soil that is rich in faith. The seed becomes effective when you sow it with a specific purpose or need in mind. The harvest grows to maturity as you keep on believing, staying in faith, and trusting God.

Get ready to see supernatural things happen in 2024!