Today we begin a new year. There are many quotes, memes, etc. to help encourage you this time of year. Here is one of the more common ones,
“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” – Brad Paisley
Another similar phrase is that when we wake in the morning, that God has given us 86,400 seconds (i.e. one more day).
While these are are good, well meaning statements, they are not true for everyone. Waking up on January 1st does not ensure 86,400 seconds of life, nor does it ensure a vibrant 365 days to come. What it does ensure is that God has given you this time, right now, and how we live it will impact the people around us and have a ripple effect that we may never realize.
As we enter the new year, may we realize that life is a journey. A journey whose length and direction we do not know, but we know what guides us on that journey. It is the Word of the God.
“Your Word is a lamp for my feet, and a light on my path” – Psalm 119-105 (CSB)
On this journey there will be many temptations luring us to go left or to go right, leading us back to the path briefly only to cross it. There is a way to avoid these detours and it is found in God’s Word….
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)
The passage does not say that the journey will always be easy. It states that He will make your path straight, helping you escape those temptations that lure you away.
Yes, the new year can be viewed as a book of blank pages that we will fill as time goes on, but we do not know how many pages that book will contain. However many pages our book contains, this year and throughout our lives, may they be filled with the things that we have witnessed God do in our lives and in the world around us. May our book, our life, be a witness to others of the goodness of God and of what Jesus did to bring us back into a close relationship with Him.
May we look with expectation in this new year for what God will do.
May we see Him active in our daily lives.
May we be witnesses of His goodness.
May our lives be a witness to others.
May this year be a journey of epic proportion as you follow Him.
