At the Threshold of the New Year

It is the time once again to review the year that has passed and to look forward with anticipation to the coming year ahead. There is always an underlying excitement whenever this time of the year comes. This is because deep within each of us, there is a yearning for fresh starts. When things are going well, a new start gives us a chance to continue our momentum. When things are not going well, a fresh start enables us to hit the reset button and begin again ... with a new screen, a clean slate, and fresh start. God provides us this fresh start because of his grace and steadfast love. He built into our lives new days, new weeks, new months, and new years. Each is an opportunity for a fresh start filled with new opportunities to escape the traps of the past and to find the love, joy, hope, and peace that his Holy Spirit longs to bring into our lives.

So it's going to be a bright new shining year. What are you going to do with it? Where is God calling you to go in your life with this new start? What opportunities has he placed in your path for this new adventure? In what ways will you passionately serve him in the days ahead?

Many people make New Year's resolutions ... then routinely break them. Experts say that these resolutions really hold sway over thoughts a mere three days or so. However, as believers in the risen and exalted Lord, we know that fresh starts can be forever. Transformation from one degree to another can be a daily event. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18) Take a look at Jonathan Edwards, the 18th-century revivalist, who sat down at age 17 and penned 21 resolutions by which he would live his life. (Well, he did not exactly do this at a new year’s eve, but at a new era of his life.) Throughout his lifetime he would add to this list until, by his death, he had 70 resolutions. He put at the top of his list: "Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat Him by His grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions."

Jonathan Edwards didn't casually make New Year's resolutions with an expectation of eventually breaking them. Each week, he did a "self-check." He regularly summed up how he was doing and sought God's help in the process.

Christ calls us to commit to actively work at becoming conformed to His image. This coming year resolve to become a person committed to a godly transformation. Prayerfully set your heart toward the work of the Lord and his future for you. Commit your ways to him and keep your eyes open for his glory in the days ahead. Resolve, just like Jonathan Edwards, “That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, in the whole of my duration.”

Happy New Year!