Peace family, I don’t feel ready for the new year.
My Christmas tree and outside decorations are still up, with no signs of coming down. Looking through old journals, I found that some of the things that bothered me throughout the year are still deeply bothering me. To start the year off on the right foot, I tried to fast yesterday, but I was so emotional, cross, and tired that after church, I broke my fast at lunch time; I decided that God would be more honored by my behavior if I had food in my system, than in how things were going! I tried to spend the rest of the day cleaning and in His presence, and I wanted to pray, read the Bible, and examine and plan goals for 2017, but instead, I ended up watching a pretty scary science-fiction show with my roommate all afternoon. I finished the day by staying up about an hour and a half past my bedtime, because I still needed to put away a bunch of food I cooked earlier in the day, and then I ended up watching youtube videos before spending a night with the AC failing to come on, and waking up multiple times, covered in sweat!
Why am I telling you all of this? Well, it was a reminder that we fall short, even with our best inclinations and efforts. We really don’t have much to offer Christ besides our hearts and our obedience, and even with our best intentions, we are never successful in doing either of these completely.
However, the reason that Christ came to earth, is that we NEED him. It’s tempting to try to do all of these things on our own and do our best to be godly people, try to earn God’s good will and attention through our performance, and fear his displeasure as we fail. However, again, it was all God’s choice to make a covenant with us. When he made his promise with Abraham, he put Abraham into a deep sleep, and performed the swearing portion of the covenant for the salvation of humanity on his own. He took all of the responsibility onto himself. (See Genesis 15.)
Peace family, God is ready for the new year. He has plans that will bring honor to himself, and he has a plan and a purpose for your life. Even if you don’t feel ready, or like me, you started off on the wrong foot, God’s mercies are renewed every morning! The great thing about being a believer of Christ, is that we don’t have to wait for each new year in order to make changes in our lives. We can make changes every day, even from hour to hour or minute to minute as we choose to relinquish our wills to Christ.
It’s okay if you don’t feel ready. God has 2017 covered!
You must be logged in to post a comment.