Articles
Empowering Thoughts for the New Year
The light of 2016 is fading; the morning star of 2017 has arisen. The last days of the year are a time of reflection. Many feel a need to examine what befell them in the previous year and gain some perspective on what lies ahead. A loved one may not have made it through the year. Perhaps we suffered an unexpected setback. Maybe it was a quiet year with no major trauma trampling upon our peace. Whatever last year held or next year portends, here are three things to ponder:
1. God loves you. No matter what has happened or what may lie ahead, God’s love is a stabilizing truth. But this is a phrase that has largely become meaningless. The concept of a personal God who has a deep interest in our welfare has been so ridiculed and denied as to cast us adrift in the doldrums of despair. We have banished Him from our thinking at great cost to our mental and emotional well-being. The last place many will turn in times of grief, loneliness or loss of purpose is to God. But God not only loves “the world” (Jn 3:16), He knows and is concerned about each of us individually. “But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him” (1 Cor 8:3).
God’s love does not translate into a life of ease or abundance. This is a distorted view of God that creates false expectations. In fact, Heb 12:3-11 tells us that the love of God is sometimes connected with painful correction. God loves us enough to allow challenges that force introspection and bring cleansing (cf. 1 Pet 1:6-7; 2 Cor 12:7-10). Such a perspective can strengthen us when times get tough. And when everything is going smoothly, it is warm comfort to know we are loved by a heavenly Father who looks favorably upon as one of His own children.
2. God can handle anything. When the angel revealed that Sarah was to have a son and she silently laughed at the thought, he called her out on it: “‘Why did Sarah laugh? … Is anything too hard for the Lord?’” (Gn 18: 13-14). The whole range of Scriptural history resoundingly answers the angel’s question: nothing is beyond God’s power and control. The defeat of well-equipped enemies, protection of hated prophets, provisions for Israel in the wilderness, even the management of world empires for the sake of His people and plans demonstrate that God cannot be stymied or outmaneuvered.
Jeremiah acknowledged, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You” (Jer 32:17). But this is a truth Jeremiah finds hard to square with reality, for he wonders why God commands him to buy a piece of property in a land that will soon be overrun by Judah’s bitter enemies (32:24-25). Are we completely convinced that God can handle whatever life dishes out to us? That He can reverse a hostile trend? That He can bring something good out of what appears to be total, unmitigated disaster? If we can truly surrender to God’s omnipotent, benevolent power, we will be free of crippling anxiety.
3. Heaven is a reality. Jesus came to the world from heaven; He ascended to heaven; He promised to return and take the faithful back to heaven to be with Him forever (Jn 14:1-3; 1 Th 4:13-18; 1 Cor 15:50-58). Skeptics think this is mythological hogwash, but God’s word furnishes abundant evidence that Jesus has opened up a “living way,” a path through the pitfalls and obstacles of earthly life that leads to eternal fellowship with our heavenly Father (Col 3:1-4; Heb 10:19-23; 2 Pet 3:10-13).
Again, this expanded view of our existence frees us from overemphasis on the things of this world, good or bad. We must have a utilitarian interaction with earthly life but an emotional detachment that allows us to keep a balanced perspective on our relation to earthly life. The “secret” to facing 2017 without being paralyzed by what might happen lies in the truth about God and eternity. If you truly believe in God, you can decide now that 2017 will be a Happy New Year!
