THE OLD IS ENDING - THE NEW HAS
COME!
2013 has come and gone, and 2014 has freshly emerged
on the ever-changing scenery of our lives. I don’t know about you, but the new
year always seems to bring with it a heart of reflection and contemplation in
my life.
A brand spanking new year comes with a bit of
ambivalence for me. On one hand 2013 is over and all the opportunities I missed
to walk in obedience, to love others or just plain do better have come and
gone. I cannot go back and fix the wrong things I said and did or the right things I neglected to say
or do in 2013…that ship has sailed.
I think most of us have regrets for 2013 - I know I
do. Places where I chose my way and not His, times that I cared too much about what didn’t matter and
cared too little about the things
that did. I’ve certainly had my share of failures and disappointments; perhaps
you did too. But since that chapter of our lives has been penned already, what
do we do with the regrets that seem to lurk in the background of everything we
do?
The apostle Paul knew something about regret as
well. He had been the direct cause of the imprisonment and death of countless
followers of Christ. His life was infamous, but not in a good way. It would’ve
been easy for him to have lived his days in the shadow of his failures. Instead
he made a surprising choice, and in doing so, he also gave us a beautiful
example to follow in Philippians 3:13-14:
“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing
I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I
press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus.”
Paul is saying in the original
Greek that he forgets and neglects those things that are behind him and he
e-x-t-e-n-d-s and s—t—r—e—t—c—h—e—s forward to those things that lie ahead. A
critical choice lay before him; to spend his time focusing on his failures or
to receive the clean slate that only Christ could offer. Philippians 3 clearly
declares his decision. We too are faced with Paul’s critical choice…we can
either focus on our past mistakes OR we can press on to all that lies just
around the bend
Although we’ve
missed the mark in 2013, we’ll be given NEW opportunities to walk in obedience,
to love others and just plain do better! God in His infinite wisdom (and mercy)
gives us a fresh chance and not just on January first! We can resolve to begin
again during any season we happen to find ourselves in. In fact, His Word
promises in Lamentations 3:22-23: “The
LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning…”. So we
can be assured that His compassions (and along with it our clean slate) are new
and available with the dawn of each new day. A fresh beginning is ours for the
asking because of His great sacrifice! And all we need to do is to come before
Him with repentant hearts and our failures are forgiven. Oh the joy of a new
beginning that can only be found in Him! And praise God, it is always
available no matter what the calendar declares!
Today may we choose to relinquish the failures and disappointments and celebrate the blessings that have been
2013, but then resolve to keep
pressing forward; keep stretching toward all that our Father’s hand
holds for us in 2014! And may we have an undaunted confidence that no matter
what lies around the bend for us we will not face it alone; as He was
faithfully with us in 2013, He will be right beside us for each and every
moment of this budding year. In fact, every year, every day, every moment spent
on this earth, His sweet presence is here with us and that should fill our
hearts with an untouchable peace.
Along with contemplation, January also brings out a
desire in me to p-e-e-k into the coming year. What lies ahead for us, I do not
know. I’m sure that there will be some valleys and disappointments, some new
trials that will test our resolve and circumstances that will s-t-r-e-t-c-h us…but
there will also be times of rejoicing and seasons of growth and fruitfulness.
One thing we can be sure of though - we will not leave 2014 unchanged! Just as
2013 has altered who we are, 2014 will shape and mold us as well. But we can be
satisfied that every moment gets filtered through His hands of love. And may we remind our hearts that our
Father knows what is lacking and yet undone in us, and in His great love and
faithfulness, He will send what is needed. May we have hearts to see His
tell-tale signs and embrace each divine gift: those that are brightly wrapped,
as well as those that come to us packaged in the darker hues…knowing full well
that each one comes from a loving heart that is working out all things for our
eventual good.
Today, precious ones, may our hearts fully know that
He approaches with the dawn of this unsullied year, a year that is brimming
with hope and promise! His precious grace blankets the past like freshly fallen
snow that covers the surface of everything in its path. The old is ending…the new is coming…may we rejoice in both!