Many are looking forward to saying good-bye to 2021 with the hope that 2022 will be better. Of course, prayer is key to that equation, but so are the steps we take to see change.

Are you feeling stuck? Frustrated that you haven’t been able to achieve the dreams you feel God has placed in your heart?

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Here is the difference between those who are stuck and those who are not—and how to get unstuck.

More than any other time of year, the closing of one year into the next is when we reflect on where we are and where we want to be. Like many of you, my husband and I often take a few days off at the end or beginning of the year to pray for direction and make sure we are positioned with what God is saying and doing.

It’s a good time to check to see if we are still on target or if we need to reposition somewhere to be sure that we are aligned with what He is speaking to us personally as well as for our family and business or ministry. Fasting is an important part of this process as is writing down the insights, goals and steps He speaks to us.

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. (Hab 2:1-3)

If you haven’t taken the time to do the above, I encourage you to now. It is a must especially if you are feeling stuck.

If you’re reading this, most likely you feel stuck somewhere. And now is the time to get unstuck.

Part of my gift and business is to help train writers. I have had many come to me and shared their desire to write a book, or be published. But you can apply what I share here to the area/dream God has put in your heart.

For the people who seek my help, some actively take hold of their dream to get further education and instruction. They set aside regular time in their schedules to write in order to achieve their goal. They are willing to take steps into the unknown to accomplish what God has placed in their heart and ask for His guidance.

And then there are those who don’t.

As a result, they remain in the same place year after year, frustrated and confused why their dream is no closer to fruition. And frustrated that God doesn’t seem to notice.

While their goal is to be published, they never actually finish the article or book. Sometimes it is because they are unfamiliar with the process and it paralyzes them. Or they are afraid they will fail. Or they think that because God has called them to this arena, He will just make it happen.

He won’t.

Because while God puts a dream in our heart, it is up to us to walk it out.

If you are part of the latter group, no matter what dream God has placed in your heart, I want to encourage you that this year doesn’t have to follow that same stuck path. This is your year to get unstuck.

How? If we want to see or reach something different, we must do something different. Even if God has called you to do something, it doesn’t mean it will be easy. So be prepared for challenges. Especially as you start to move into the direction God has called you, rest assured Satan will throw roadblocks in your path to discourage you.

Also recognize that if a door doesn’t readily open, it doesn’t mean you are on the wrong path. Subsequently, just because a door does open doesn’t mean THAT particular door is God’s plan for you. Satan can open and close doors as well. The key is to pray and ask the Lord what doors He has for you…and then press in to what He tells you.

To go to a new level with God, to achieve a new thing, we often have to leave something else behind.

There are only so many hours in a day. And to achieve something new requires a learning process, creating new habits, and doing new things. That is rarely possible to achieve, if we don’t lay something else aside that is taking some of that needed time.

Spiritually speaking, if we want to go deeper with God, it requires we leave some things behind. There are things that were quite okay for me to do in previous years, that the Holy Spirit checks me on in this season. I’m not talking things that are blatant sin. Those are obvious checks. I’m talking about things that He is prodding me to lay down in order to make more room for Him.

Are there any of those things He is speaking to you about your life? It is up to us whether we head His prompts or not. But progress can only really come once we do.

If you are a runner or a weight lifter, to continue to progress, you will change your eating habits, your workout habits, and the amount of time you invest to achieve the goal.

If you want to start your own business, you have to lay down the amount of free time you have to relax. Where before you might have read a book for pleasure, now it’s utilizing that time to read to launch your new business.

In order to progress, we must lay down one thing to embrace another. It’s impossible to achieve something new, without making changes whether physically or spiritually.

My prayer for you is that next December you can look back over 2022 and see advancement in the dream God has placed in your heart. That you will make the decision today to take active steps to pursue your dream, even if you are unsure what to do. Remember Abraham didn’t know the whole plan God had for him either. He had one instruction. But as he stepped out in faith to travel the unchartered road, He trusted that God would give him the next step when he needed it. He did and God blessed him abundantly (Gen 26:2).

So press in with prayer and action to what God has placed in your heart and trust that as you move forward, He will guide your steps.

Actions steps to get unstuck:

1. Write down what He speaks to you.

We’ve all had a prompt from the Holy Spirit or insight that we didn’t take the time to write it down. Then we try to remember it and it is gone. It’s important that we invest the time to pray and then write down what He speaks to us so that the vision is before our eyes.

2. Review

It’s imperative we review the goals or actions He speaks to us throughout the year to be sure that we are still on target and running with the vision He has given us. We often start a new thing at the beginning of the year, only to let it drop off days or weeks later. New habits are essential to see breakthrough and means we have to continue pressing in until it truly becomes a new habit.

3. Take action. A stopped car goes nowhere. We have to take steps to get started to begin to see movement. Even if you don’t know what to do, take time to pray and then begin to research. Often times when I feel “stuck” I will open my Bible and pray and begin to read until I feel the Holy Spirit bring insight into a particular area. If we seek Him, we will find Him.
4. Don’t allow discouragement to cause you to stop.

When we don’t see immediate breakthrough or when things begin to get bogged down, its easier to give up, then to press in. Rarely are the things God has called us to do easy. Rarely do they manifest, without a sacrifice on our part. We can’t expect to walk in a new place unless we are willing to grow, learn and battle through the challenges. It is through the battles that we grow the spiritual muscles to take new ground. It is part of the process. Remember the children of Israel weren’t given the Promise Land overnight because God knew the wild animals would be too numerous for them. It was a process (Ex 23:29).

5. Listen to what God is saying to you.

In recent years prophets have re-emerged on public radar. While God has given us these important voices, at times if feels as if people have begun to follow them like a Christian horoscope. While it is important to listen to what God is saying through prophetic voices, we must first listen to what He is saying to us personally. He gave us the Holy Spirit, who resides in each of us, to speak to us personally.

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come (Jn 16:13).

Share your praise in the comments!

Karen Hardin is a literary agent and writer. She is the author of “Infected: How to Stop the Global Spread of Rage, Deception and Insanity” and “God’s Justice after Injustice.” Her work has been published in USA Today, Western Journal, World Net Daily, Intercessors for America, Charisma, CBN.com and more. She is also the co-founder of the city-by-city.org prayer movement to take back our cities and nation.

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