The calendar has turned, the confetti has fallen, the hangovers have passed and life’s grind resumes for everyone as holiday tunes and Auld Lang Syne fade out for another twelve months. One of the wisest humans whose feet ever shuffled through earth’s dust once said, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Yep, it’s the same old, same old for most of us and we are reminded afresh that real life includes a hefty amount of duty interspersed with delight, much hard work relieved by moments of leisure and boatloads of the mundane interrupted by the occasional crescendo of something new. Discouraged yet? Don’t be. You live in a distraction-addicted culture which promises that life is supposed to be a perpetual vacation but God’s truth will never lead you down that dead-end road of deception. There are some things I don’t know about this new year but I am confident of at least one thing:
“The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” – Psalm 9:9-10 {ESV}
When times are troubling we have an available refuge. We have a great God who has made Himself known. We have a gracious God who makes Himself available to be more deeply known. Our Creator is also our Rescuer and we can continue to place our most abandoned trust in Him. He is not deterred by your woes nor displaced by your weakness. He cannot give up on you and is well aware that you have nothing of which He stands in need. Your Master has done the incredible thing by pledging Himself to you for your good and will deposit everything into this very day which He will require of you. He doesn’t mind if you are overwhelmed and spend some time crying today. He is quite content if your heart is filled and expressive of lofty hopes that find their center in Him. Do you have those who depend on you? Well, this great and gracious Lord offers to help you care for them.
And what about those fears that dared to follow you into the new year?
God is well aware of them all and is, right this very second, in the process of helping you to focus less upon them and more upon all of His promises which did not follow you into 2103 but, rather, went ahead of you and are here waiting on you today. You see, friend, God has declared over the span of the ages that He will never forget you. Never. You are engraved upon His palms and embedded in His continual thoughts. It is not about my aspirations and yours coming to pass – no, we have always aimed far too low and failed to fathom how great is His desire toward us. His ideas are higher. His will encompasses more than you have ever believed. His delights, reserved under your name, are ready for you to receive. But there is one question that He will not always answer on your behalf. He has left something for you today. He places one thing in your potential which the outcome depends to some degree:
Will you believe Him?
This year, will you dare to risk the faith which embraces the possibility that the great God of all the ages has pinpointed His love and grace upon you? Will you humble yourself and stop pretending that you are the exception to the rule? Stop confessing how great He is unless you dare to believe that His greatness is also for you.
Now let’s see what today brings and do the same tomorrow.