New Year

Here we are again, another new year. As we stand, today is January 4, 2021 and with the turning of the calendar from 2020 to 2021, there were many sighs of relief released at the clock struck 12:00 midnight. With what we experiences in 2020, I understand this sentiment but now that we have another year, what’s next? Or, what is new?

An important lesson that I have learned from growing older with each new older but especially since joining the ministry is that in order to grow or to make something better, something must change. This is one such lesson that is rather easy to grasp and comprehend as things do not change if we continue to do the same thing day in and day out.

While this is easy to grasp, there is something much bigger that is missed by so many because the things that we want to change, well, we do not. This, sadly, is something that I am able to relate with greatly as I went from year to year with nothing changing and this included seeing a new year come in with great hopes but by the end of the year, I was no closer to seeing a new me.

By this point in the article, I hope it is understood that this article is not about a quick fix. For example, if you are working hard to get to the top, it is going to take a while to get there as success does not come overnight regardless of what the videos and advertisements on YouTube and other social media platforms claim. Scripture informs us that we must wait: “But if we hope for that we see not, [then] do we with patience wait for [it]” (Romans 8:25).

But if we hope for that we see not, [then] do we with patience wait for [it].”

-Romans 8:25

This article is about the New Year and the excitement that comes with that New Year and how to cash in on the excitement. This is one reason why I like to set goals which is something that I used not to do. Simply put, I was living day by day with no hopes or dreams of something more. Instead, I just existed with no purpose. There are many people who do not like to set goals because they deem them as meaningless but for me, goals give me something to look forward to.

In the last few years since I have started making goals, I have learned that there is a real rush in checking something off of your list. By checking that accomplishment off of your list, you feel a real sense of achievement even if it’s just a small accomplishment or two. What I have learned is that we should set many goals with a mixture of small, medium, and large and at the end of the year, we look back and see how far we have come which has helped me grow as both a mature person and Christian.

It is likely that we may not reach all of our goals but that’s okay. So many people are afraid of failing that they never begin to start and I know this because I used to be such a person. Instead of going forward with what I desired, I never begun because it’s much easier this way. If you don’t fail, you don’t lose anything….except what may be. That journey that you are a part of while chasing your goals is not anything that can be written into a movie script and usually, the adventures that you experience are completely different than anything you dreamt of.

With that said, that journey that so many never begin results from fear of many different things or concepts which is why God wants us to be humble-to express humility in all things-while living in a world that seems to eat up the humble. Living humbled and expressing humility does not mean weakness in any manner and my experiences have taught me that being humbled is more difficult than lashing out: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).

If you’ve read this article to this point then you may have asked yourself who am I to give such commentary? This is a fair question because scripture is clear that we are to be careful about who and what we entertain. The best answer to this question is I am nobody special except a lost soul that was saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. Just like so many others past and present, I was given a new opportunity not because of a new year but because of a Savior who loved me enough to give me a new life. Everything stated in this article comes from personal experience and not from someone simply reading from the Word of God.

The New Year Day holiday has always meant a lot for so many and for different reasons and as I have aged, it has taken on a different meaning to me, as well. Yes, I do set resolutions (now) because they do give you something to reach for and yes, I do believe in striving for something more but I also believe that the new year that the secular world celebrates should be celebrated and honored each and every day because we are Christians and we have a new opportunity and hope in Christ not because of the calendar being different but because of Jesus Christ Himself and for that, I am honored and thankful which makes me humble: “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

-ROMANS 6:23