Happy New Year!
It’s hard to believe it’s January 1, 2008. But, here we are!
We had a wonderful New Years Eve with my in-laws and husband’s siblings and their friends. We ate Jambalaya and stayed up quite late to watch stunt man Robbie Maddison set a record by jumping a football field on a motorcycle. There was so much anticipation for a few seconds of a man blurring through the air. It was fun and my boys, especially, loved it. Whenever I have to cover my eyes when my four year old climbs trees, I am reminded that Evil Knievel had a mother, too.
Last night, we added all of the important birthdays and anniversaries to our new Audubon bird calendar. My children looked to see where their birthdays were located on the unmarked pages.
Looking at the calendar, with so many blank boxes that will surely fill up quickly, caused me to think about the past year – loved ones that have died (I put the anniversaries of their deaths on the calendar, as well as their birthdays and wedding anniversaries), the kids various milestones, our month long trip to Japan…. what a great year! And yet, at the beginning of the year, I had no idea that God had so much in store for our family!
So, it is with eagerness that I am looking forward to the year ahead. As I put away my calendar and was reflecting on these thoughts, humbled by how the Lord has worked in our lives in the past year, it was pressed upon my heart how HARD it is sometimes to have a fresh start in life. It’s not always as easy as putting a new calendar on the wall. Broken relationships do take time to mend. Sometimes when we have sinned, we have consequences to pay – they’re not over instantaneously. If we have done something that has hurt someone, there is a regaining of trust that sometimes takes place. Job situations are no different – it’s pretty rare and unheard of to just leave your job and go to a new one all within one day… there are interviewing processes, two week notices, training the person filling your shoes… all of these life changes take TIME. Fresh starts are often a progression of the ‘ducks being in a row’ so to speak.
BUT… even though all of these fresh starts, which can even be admirable and worth hanging in there over, aren’t instantaneous, there IS one LIFE-CHANGING fresh start that happens INSTANTANEOUSLY:
Placing our trust and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is no waiting period for a fresh start with the Creator of the universe. It’s as simple as confessing our sinfulness, seeking God’s forgiveness, acknowledging with thanksgiving that Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, and striving to study and obey God’s Word.
Perhaps there are Christians out there who need a fresh start.
For example, it’s easy to get into a groove where our relationship with God is as scheduled as our family calendar. When we find ourselves going through the motions of church attendance and “being spiritual” when its convenient, it’s easy to rationalize away or turn a blind eye to those in need: “Someone else will take care of them, my plate is too full” or “I know I need to seek so-and-so’s forgiveness, but she contributed to the situation and I’ll wait until SHE says something first.” We serve God with our minds and our bodies, but not with our heart and soul. The root is that we pridefully want to be in control of our lives, and even our relationship with God, and we are afraid to turn the reigns over to God. What if we turn control over to God and He gives us something we can’t handle or puts someone who is a nuisance in our life? What if He calls us to face our worst fear?
Or, perhaps there is great hurt that is in the way of a relationship with God. Sometimes the things of this earth seem so big that God seems distant. We are consumed by our hurt, to the point of even cherishing it and holding it up as an idol. I know this sounds harsh! It’s not meant to be – but I do know what it’s like to focus on a problem and trying to solve it ourselves or bear the hurt or burden of it ourselves, instead of focusing on God and trusting in Him for our comfort or for the things that our out of our hands.
A fresh start in these situation would be seeking God’s forgiveness for doing things our way, or stubbornly holding onto hurt and trying to hold it all together on our own strength, pridefully refusing to admit that our burdens really our too big for us to bear alone.
When we seek God’s forgiveness, He grants it to us instantaneously.
I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
There is no waiting period to receive God’s forgiveness – Christ has already done the work on the cross for us, thousands of years ago. All we have to do is admit our sinfulness, lay it at the cross with thanksgiving, repent of our sin, and place the reigns in God’s hands.
If it sounds similar to salvation, that’s because it is! Although we don’t have to keep getting saved every time we sin, we must constantly be going back to the cross in all that we do. Our salvation is constantly being worked out in our lives – this is called sanctification.
As you look to the year ahead, pause for a minute and check to make sure your heart is right before God. Confess your sins and sinful attitudes – we all have them! The Bible says that if we say we’re without sin, we’re liars! Then, humbly dedicate 2008 to the Lord. Thank Him for being a God who does care about the details of our lives. Bask in the awesomeness of His power. Ask for Him to guide your path in the coming year. Say, “Lord, I am your servant. Please give me help me to be a good steward of the time you have given me. Please open my eyes to opportunities to serve you and help me to grow closer to you.”
Right there with all of you – reflecting, confessing, rededicating.
With much love,
Sarah Joy Albrecht
Photo Credit : MapleMama via Flickr