[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Lord will guide you and protect you through this year and beyond. He will make his face to shine upon you. Your feet shall not slip and neither shall you suffer want. You shall live long and prosper and your joy shall be full.
You shall not be cut short because long life is your portion. The Lord shall give you the fat of the land and a place of honour in the land. You shall increase. The Lord shall enlarge your coast and he shall exalt your horn.
The seductions and evil of this world will not overwhelm you and neither will they consume you. The Lord shall guide you in all your ways and deliver you from the hands of the wicked one and his agents. You shall rise up to greater heights than you can possibly imagine and neither shall you ever suffer want, shame or defeat.
Before your very eyes you shall see the recompense of the wicked and those that seek your hurt and wish you to go astray. You will excel in your work and studies and the Lord will grant you joy everlasting. Because you have honoured Him in all your ways your days will be long and His blessing shall never depart from you.
The love of God and his grace and mercy shall walk with you all the days of your life and his angels shall guard you jealously both night and day. May God bless and keep you now and always and may this year and beyond be great in your life and in your family.
You are simply wonderful; a great blessing from a great God. You will never be ashamed but rather like a well-watered garden, you will be fruitful and productive.
You will flourish forever and neither shall your leaves ever wither. Your pockets shall never run dry for the Lord will grant you plenty and he will cause rivers to flow through your desert places.
His precious anointing and Holy Spirit shall never depart from you and his peace and favour shall cover you all the days of your life.
I soak your body, spirit and soul in the precious blood of the sprinkling; the blood of the Holy one of Israel, the lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, son of the Living God.
I commit you into the hands and power of the God of heaven and into the presence and power of he who came down as God incarnate in the flesh.
May the deep mysteries of his precious blood speak for you at the gates and fight for you in every circumstance touching and concerning your life.
Go forth into the new year boldly with your head held up high knowing who you are and knowing that you serve a mighty God.
Because of Him you are safe and sound and you cannot be defeated. Because of Him everything that you set your hands to do that is in accordance with his will , shall meet with good success.
Give Him the praise and glory in all things and remember always that he loves you more than life itself. God bless and keep you and all that is yours now and always. We serve a mighty God so go forth into the world in His strength and in His power.
Take dominion and conquer, be courageous and be strong and most important of all be thankful and be happy, for in the end he makes all things beautiful. Faithful, mighty and true are His names.
However you may feel today, whether happy or sad or whether hopeful or fearful, always remember this: that our future and fate as a nation will not be determined by anyone, any group of people, any political party or any government.
It will not be eclipsed, marred, moulded or forged in the darkness of deceit or in the tunnels of misfortune. Evil and heartless men shall not have their way forever in our country.
Even though our night may be dark, long and seemingly endless, the beautiful rays of the bright morning sun shall surely come and with it bring light, comfort, joy and everlasting peace.
One day our ship of state shall not be steered by cruel, unfeeling, uncaring and insensitive hearts but by the God of Heaven and by He alone.
One day, not too far from now, our land shall be free and our soil shall breath life again. On that day the summer flowers will blossom and the sound of gentle laughter shall fill the air.
Therein lies our hope for a better tomorrow and there lies our path to honour, prosperity and greatness unimaginable. Our destiny and hope lies in God’s sure hands and not in the hands of mere mortals.
In all things, both good and bad, we must give thanks to Him alone and we must have faith in Him and none other. He is worthy to be praised. He is faithful and true. He will not forget us. He will not forsake us. He will not deny us. He will not abandon us.
He is our shield and our glory: He is the lifter of our heads. As long as He wills it, we are one nation, indivisible, unbreakable and undividable under God.
We may have many differences amongst ourselves but whichever side of the great divide that each and everyone of us stands or falls, we are, every single one of us, first and foremost, proud sons and daughters of mother Nigeria and our faith, our loyalty, our hearts and our very souls must live for and pledge loyalty to the sacred soil of Nigeria: they must testify to the power, the wisdom, the beauty and the grace of our numerous nationalities and our wonderful people.
God bless Nigeria! God save Nigeria! God defend Nigeria! God deliver Nigeria!
Happy new year and may God be with you and yours now and always.
Femi Fani-Kayode is a lawyer, a Nigerian politician, an evangelical christian, an essayist, a poet and he was the Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to President Olusegun Obasanjo from July 2003 until June 2006. He was the minister of culture and tourism of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from June 22nd to Nov 7th 2006 and as the minister of Aviation from Nov 7th 2006 to May 29th 2007. He runs a syndicated column on The Trent. He tweets from@realFFK.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
