As this year
draws to a close, we are all thinking about the past year—about our sorrows:
the things we’d like to do differently and about our joys: the things that made
the year worth living. We talk
about New Years Resolutions because we believe in fresh starts. We believe that God makes all things
new (Rev. 21:5).
But why is it that we
think that after a certain year or age that we will magically be changed? I stopped having real New Years Resolutions a while back
because they never worked. I never
was able to stick with it to make the change. After all, how can I fail if I
don’t ever make a goal? I think
that I always failed eventually because I tried to rely on my own efforts to
change. True change doesn’t come
from trying hard or our good intentions.
It comes from God. We know this, but as with all of God's Ways, it is easier said than done.
One of the most profound things that God has ever told me is (Who am I kidding? When God speaks, it’s all profound!) that just because I
want something doesn’t mean I’ll get it.
I want a good marriage. But
if you wish in one and you know what in the other, see which one fills up
first. Wanting does nothing unless
you surrender and do things God’s ways.
This New Year of 2013, the only thing I want more of is
God. I want His Presence and His
Peace. His word tells us that we
already have these things—“You will show me the way of life, granting me the
joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever” (Psalms
16:11 NLT). All we have to do is
Trust that He will do what He says.
So as 2012 comes to a close, just like everyone else I will
think about the past year—about my sorrows: the things I’d like to do
differently and my joys: the things that made this year worth living. I will look forward to 2013 with
great expectation as an artist looks at a blank canvas—full of possibility. The only resolve that I will make is to
seek His Peace and His Presence above all else because in His Presence our
problems and circumstances don’t seem to matter as we fill our lives with the
fullness of His Joy.
