Whenever we flipped the calendar into a new year, it serves as a good time to reflect on one’s life to see if any changes need to be made going forward. Being a guy, this usually takes only a few moments: eat healthier, don’t do anything stupid, and live on a budget.
A new year also serves as a time to reflect on where I am spiritually and what changes God might want me to make in my life, such as being more intentional about my relationship with Him, building deeper friendships and being more missional with my friends and neighbors, and maybe sitting down as a family to read through the New Testament. [There are 260 chapters in the New Testament and 263 days in a year if you don’t count Saturdays and Sundays.]
A new year is also a good time to reflect back on how God has blessed over the past months and then to grab hold of His promises going into 2017, whatever it might hold.
One of our family’s favorite verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” These verses are meant to encourage us, knowing that God is always in control and has a grand purpose for our lives. The various events that happen in my life, good or bad, are meant to give me hope and remind me of my preferred future with God in charge.
Paul reiterates Jeremiah’s words in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” This doesn’t mean that it’s always smooth sailing but only that God’s purposes are being fulfilled as it pertains to each one of us and that our faith and perseverance should see us through.
Yet, here’s the problem. Not many of us have the faith or the patience to see us through those difficult and challenging times. We end up like the Israelites who… “did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” [Judges 17:6] We follow in the footsteps of people like Adam & Eve, Cain, Jacob & Esau, Joseph’s brothers, Moses who disobeyed God by hitting the rock, Aaron and the golden calf, Achan stealing the gold in Jericho, most of the judges of Israel such as Gideon with the ephod, Jepthath with the foolish vow, Samson with his many shortcomings. How about the kings of Israel and Judah beginning with King Saul, King David with his womanizing ways, King Solomon, King Rehoboam, and on down the line. All through biblical history you see individuals taking matters into their own hands, refusing to rely on God. There are some exceptions though like Noah, Daniel, Jeremiah, the Apostle John, and Paul, but for the most part, people, then and now, tend to do whatever seems right to them and then seek God’s wisdom or approval.
I must admit, when I get going in my day, I often simply react to my circumstances and never stop to consider what God might be up to in my life. Most of the time, I operate under the rubric of doing what seems right to me.
This year, my one resolution is to trust God regardless of how the circumstances may look to me, to trust Him with my future and then have the patience to wait on Him instead of rushing into a stupid decision. God has great plans for my family and me and I can’t wait to discover what He has in store for the coming year, but I guess I’ll have to be patient and wait for Him to reveal them to me in His time. It’s kind of like Christmas, one present at a time, which is about all I can handle anyway.
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