The Lord says:
"This is a year of restful victory for those who look to Me! This is the year I am going to ward off and defeat every work of the enemy against you. Receive and claim your victory this year! The enemy has done much damage in the past year, but I will cause you to have the upper hand this year. Keep walking with Me and keep looking to Me, and nothing's going to stop My work in your life this year! This is the year to see your victory!"
When many people in the world are restless, struggling and anxious in the year 2023, you, my friend, you will be restful, and you will see your victory and breakthrough! I declare this upon your life!
And whatever damage that the enemy has inflicted upon you in the past year, the Lord is going to overturn it and overcome for you this year! Your part is to believe and receive. Amen!
Too good to be true? Not if God's people continue to humble themselves and fear the Lord. These are the keys to how the Lord is going to appoint and order your steps, every step of the way, throughout the year 2023, in spite of whatever 'storm' that happens in the world in the year 2023.
What is the meaning of '23'? We shall look at the number '20', then number '3', and of course number '23'.
Number '20' can mean 'lifting up your open hands in worship'. So, keep worshiping the Lord, keep lifting up your holy hands, and open your hands before the Lord in praise and in worship. Because number '20' in Hebrew speaks of 'open hands, open palm of your hands'.
Number '3' can speak of 'completeness, or complete victory'; just like the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit - Three in One, but One God. He is a complete God. So, '3' means 'complete victory for your life'.
And with '20' and '3', you get '23'.
Number '23' can mean 'consecrated and set apart for the Lord (like the Levites)'. It means the Lord is reserving you for His goodness and for His glory; and therefore, there's no need for you to fight the war. You know why? Because the Lord will fight for you.
As you begin this year, this is also a good time to meditate on the whole of Psalm 23. This is a psalm of God's assurance, protection, green pastures, guidance, and of course, blessings. I'm going to quote Psalm 23:4 that says: 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For You, O Lord, are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.'
You see, He is going to see to it that He will be with you throughout 2023, as long as you continue to look to Him, seek Him, worship Him, hear His voice, and heed His voice.
Let's go now to 2 Chronicles 20. This is regarding Jehoshaphat and how he saw a restful victory, in line with what the Lord has spoken for the year 2023. It happened that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them, came to battle against Jehoshaphat and the nation of Judah at that time. Here, you see that the enemies were 'ganging up' against Jehoshaphat.
But as Jehoshaphat and the people of the Lord began to seek the Lord and look to Him, He raised a Jahaziel in their midst to speak to them: "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude. For the battle is not yours, but God's."
Indeed the Lord is saying the same to you, whatever situation you are facing at the moment: "Do not be afraid, do not be dismayed, in spite of the presence of the enemies. Because the battle is not yours. The battle is the Lord's."
By the way, 'Jahaziel' is 'Yakhaz El' in Hebrew. It can mean 'Beheld of God'. In other words, God is watching over you, God is beholding you, and God is overseeing you. Therefore, you need not be afraid, come what may in the world in the year 2023!
Now, the name 'Jehoshaphat' is 'Yehoshawfat' in Hebrew. It simply means 'YHWH has judged'. Indeed He is a God of Justice, and He is a Just God. He knows and understands what you've been going through in the past year, and He will know how to reward you this year.
And just as happened for Jehoshaphat those days, the Lord will also know how to 'set ambushes' against all those works of darkness that seek your 'downfall', or all those works of darkness that seek to 'destroy' you. In fact, these works of darkness would be so confused that instead of inflicting 'damage' upon you, they would end up destroying one another!
And that's what the Lord meant by 'a restful victory' for you in the year 2023!
Have a happy, blessed, and victorious new year!
