It’s a new year. A new decade.

In my life time, I’ve marinated in environments where it’s expected I should declare prosperity, health, blessings and all things good for the new year. And why not? Isn’t that what we all hope for?

But honestly, we don't know what a year will bring. I’ve had good years and others where things have gone horribly wrong, with no foresight of what was coming, no matter what I had declared at it’s start. Years where the collision of my bless-me-club-membership faith and actual reality shattered me into tiny pieces and everything I was certain of, understood and believed, lay broken at my feet.

As the years come and go I‘ve come to ask myself, are these declarations of only having what I define as good in life, nothing but a demand for God’s stamp of approval on what I want? Isn’t it arrogant to believe I can take a few scriptures mixed with my wants, my desires and throw them at God, as if He’s some genie in a magic bottle or cosmic vending machine, demanding He heal, prosper, alleviate, rescue me from every heart rendering circumstance of death, despair, disability and disillusionment?

Ask? Yes.

 Declare and demand? No.

Maybe we should just declare that whatever happens God will be with us. In it all.

Maybe all He wants is us, not all our plans or demands. He just wants to be inside this life with us whatever that ends up looking like.

Maybe He just wants us to discover the simple certainty of this, He is Emmanuel. God With Us. He will not abandon or forsake us in 2020 or any other time.

 And maybe knowing that is enough for a new year.

Comments (1)

I have a revelation about resolutions. I'm not good at keeping them. And after watching sixty-some New Years come and go, I don't make them anymore. I also have a resolution about revelations. IF I spend time listening to the still, small voice of my Heavenly Father, He lovingly reveals areas in my life where I need to change. I can tackle problem areas with greater ease when He enlightens. I move forward in divine grace, instead of by the sheer determination of my limited human effort. The Creator God of Heaven and Earth and Me, knows what I need better than anyone so I can move forward into the New Year with confidence. For the One.."who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5 No one is more interested and invested in our progress and improvement than God. As we walk in His enabling power, we are continually becoming new and renewed. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 God specializes in New! He specializes in You! Start a personal revolution. Let His Revelation become your Resolution. Spend some time listening and surrendering and have a Happy, new and improved you, in 2017!

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Since I was a child, I've always felt the shift of the clock from 11:59 p.m. on December 31, to 12:00 a.m. on January 1, should be magical, fantastical, miraculous; as if something incredible should happen at the very second a year flips over. Shouldn't the problem I've struggled over all year suddenly have resolution, or money fall from the sky like confetti in New York’s Times Square, or people desperately seeking restored health be instantly healed? Shouldn't broken hearts be renewed and shattered relationships repaired, mobile phones ringing and buzzing with offers of love and forgiveness? Shouldn't Jon come out of his room with a huge hug and Happy New Year wishes, and loved ones who've passed on, walk smiling through my door, shouting, "Hey! I'm back!"? You know...amazing stuff like...answers. Reversals. Miracles. I wait for it every year. Deep inside I admit to expecting it. But another new year seems to come and go as ordinary as most days. We celebrate it for a few hours, the fireworks fade and we wake up the next morning to another sunrise. Another start. Another chance. Another twenty four hours. What is it about a new year that makes us yearn for more? I think it's hope. Hope is defined as desire accompanied by anticipation, expectation and confident belief. Hope is central to our very existence. 1 Corinthians 13:13, combines "faith, hope and love," with love being the greatest. But how is love even possible without faith and hope? When hope walks out, all other longing goes with it. Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." The human heart has an incredible capacity to keep hope alive, even in the darkest times; to keep wishing for perfection, beauty, solutions, joy, and love. It shouldn't surprise us, for we are made in God's image, and He is all these and more. There is a spark of hope in us that ignites new promise for a new year. Maybe this year I'll get that raise or promotion. Maybe this year I'll meet that special someone. Maybe this year my situation will turn. Maybe this year my health will improve. Maybe this year my sorrow will turn to joy. Maybe this year will be my break through. Last year was hard, but it's over. This year will be better. I hope. We can't know what a year will bring, but of this we can be certain: God will be in this New Year with us, just as He always has been. He has not forsaken us, even though we may not feel Him near. His mercy is new and available every morning and His love for us is endless. He can be trusted with our future. As the year before us unfolds, my hope and prayer is, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit," Romans 15:13. The best of blessings to you and yours in the days ahead. May your year be abundant with hopes fulfilled. image credit: http://www.freshpickedwhimsy.typepad.com/

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