“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God himself will be with them as their God. … Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” (Revelations 21:3, AMP)
A journey! And God tells us He is with us and has been and will be – until we come home. This should be an incredibly comforting thought. We aren’t alone. And this foundation emphasizes newness as we walk out our journey in this life. It also can be a kind of context when we get discouraged… especially about ourselves and who we are.
The first day of the year is (or can be) very special. On this particular date, today is not just a new day, it is also the start of a new month… and it is the start of a new year. Clean slate. New beginning? Where and who do you want to be on your journey a year from now? What are you willing to do to attain this? Will you look back on you and be pleased? If we look at the day as a new, a fresh start – a time when the slate can be wiped clean and we can begin anew, then we walk into the new year with hope… and confidence. No… we can’t eliminate dangling responsibilities, those holdover ‘things’ from the previous year, but we can put our minds in a state of new beginnings. Many times a new thinking, a fresh ‘look’ can resolve an old unsettled issue.
At least for me, I’ve discovered that a ‘clean slate’ comes with the understanding that I have new expectations for myself. I really can’t use the excuses from yesterday or expect an unending acceptance of any bad behavior I exhibit. My journey includes my responsibility to become that workman that does prove his worth. Perhaps not a ‘new’ frame of reference, but it is the one I need to embrace in order to continue my journey, walk on my path… continue to become who I have been created to be. It is C.S. Lewis’ quote that provides my context:
“”The question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what He intended us to be when He made us.” (C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”)
Again, our focus comes into question. When our sole focus is ME and MY wants and ‘needs’ we can too easily get distracted. No, not abandoning them but looking and judging them against the Lord’s plans.
“I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.” (Philippians 3:13-14, MSG)
Sometimes the Message translation speaks to the heart of what we are trying to be and do. Where are our eyes? What is it we look at… for? How do we do this? In this particular situation – are we seeing the goal? Do we know where we are headed? In my world of definitions, a ‘new’ provides this opportunity to stop, reassess, and double check if I am where I should be.
Our journeys are the result of our decisions, our plans (or lack of), our actions,
our hopes and dreams, our wants and desires, OUR. Never apologize for your journey, embrace it all – including the good and bad decisions, the good and bad plans, the good and bad actions, the good and bad hopes and dreams, wants and desires. When ‘bad’ was the result, that would have been the time to apologize and repent and go a different way. You may make your journey… but your journey defines you.
The delight is that the Lord ALWAYS gives us second and third and fifty one plus chances to become who we have been intended to be. This means that a new year can become your new start. And when you stumble, remember that you can start from this new spot – never regret you stumbled… just ‘pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again’ (from “Swing Time”, 1926 Fred Astaire movie)
