What’s Stopping You?
Each morning unless it’s some serious inclement weather, I take my puppy Stella on a walk. She absolutely loves it; I on the other hand must prepare myself and most importantly my eyesight and hands to both see objects before her and steer her away from putting them in her mouth. So, our walks are filled with “No” or “On by” so that I won’t have to play tug with something I cringe at imagining in her grasp. While walking and noticing the changes in my neighborhood, I focused on a stop sign lying on its side on the ground. As I reflected, the sign has been in said position for at least two weeks. I elected to take a picture of it to send to the HOA. In my preparation to frame my phone to take the picture, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “What’s stopping you?” Funny that I’ve seen this sign for two weeks and today, on the first day of 2026, the Lord would choose to speak a Word so deliberately as we embark upon a new year. And because I love you and welcome shared accountability, I pass the question on to you, “What’s stopping you?”
Unlike Stella, we don’t have a leash around our neck with someone guiding us or preventing us from going in the directions that we choose. Each of us have a clean slate as we walk into the new year, embodying Isaiah 43:18-19, “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Whatever happened in 2025 and for some of us, the years prior because disappointment, trauma and misaligned expectations are not relegated to one year, through God, we can embrace the possibilities of something new. Further, we may be the conduit to bring it forth – for ourselves, our families, our friends and our community. The barriers have been removed and are lying on the ground. We have the right of way to move in any direction that God is calling us toward.
How will we know? We can blame others and their antics, but truthfully, we are the single factors which determine our efforts. People will always people. It’s nothing new. There were folx being messy, nosey, unaccountable and uninterested when Jesus walked the earth. If we are followers, what makes us different or exempt from the shenanigans? We must move as though there is no stop sign. Lay our requests before the Lord and be bold enough to actualize the behavior to bring it to manifestation. And let me be clear, we can individually be responsible for our own demise. The flesh is a tricky thing and will betray itself if we don’t create a regimen to strike down every thought that does not align with God’s purpose and His promises.
The new year presents like a new walk for Stella. Whatever happened yesterday or yesteryear “is what it is.” The stop sign is no longer present. What will you “go” toward? Let nothing stop you.