Happy New Year, friends! Have you caught your breath yet from the whirlwind of Christmas and the new year? A new year is always bittersweet for me. Sure, some years are harder than others, but I find there’s good in every year, regardless of the trials we’ve walked through. I also always feel a bit nervous of what the new year will bring. Despite the previous year and the mental state I’m in, when we cross the new year’s threshold, I can guarantee that it will be another set of failed resolutions, and a year of grace and growth for me.
The older I get, the more I realize that my plans and intentions are… well, just that: my plans and intentions. If you’re a parent, you can probably relate more to that statement than anyone else. We plan, then people get sick, have meltdowns, or fall asleep. Basically, things neeeeeeverrrrrrrrrrr go the way we plan. I distinctly remember spending weeks, planning a vacation, and when we got there, my kids were tired, grumpy, and the first few days were just plain ugly. It wasn’t what I planned, but it was what I got. That’s the way it goes though; our plans never go exactly how we imagine, right?
As believers, we’re called to “Commit to the LORD whatever we do, and he will establish our plans” (Proverbs 16:3). That’s easier said than done for me in many ways. I’m a type-A, task-oriented person. I thrive with a to-do list. Give me a list, and I won’t (or maybe can’t) stop until it’s done. However, we weren’t made to live by “To-do” lists, failed resolutions, and our plans. We were created for more. In fact, Paul wrote in Ephesians, that “... we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). God is the ultimate Creator. He created the heavens and earth; He created light and darkness; He created the animals and plants; and He created us. Creators don’t just create things to discard them. Creators create things for purpose– to be used.
Psalms 139:13 says, “For it was You [God] who created my inward parts; You [God] knit me together in my mother’s womb.” We were thought of. We were planned out. We were crafted. We were knit together. We were created for purpose. Purpose bigger than a list of things we can check-off or accomplish in a year. Purpose bigger than anything we can imagine.
Whether or not we’ve failed our 2023 lists already, there’s still time to seek God’s plan for our lives. The Bible App’s verse of the day today is Revelation 3:20, “Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.” God, who created us, gave us our freewill, and sent Jesus to die for us, continues to knock at our hearts. He gives us opportunity after opportunity to let Him in before He physically returns to earth with His second coming.
I’m not sure what you’re leaving in 2022, but I do know that God desires more of us in 2023. My prayer is that we find ways to silence outside noise and connect with our Creator who cares for us, so much so that “... He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). That alone is worth investing in.
Are you a skeptic? Are you an unbeliever? Do you just not know? Make this your year to discover. Ask God to show you. Without a doubt, He will.