Looking Out 31.1.23

And so it is that the calendar will (finally!) flip and we have begun a brand-new year. Last year, 2023—with its mix of joys and sorrows, goals met, and goals missed, friendships gained and friendships lost—is behind us.

For many, New Year’s is just another holiday. For others, it’s a time of deep reflection, both on   the past year, and on the one ahead.

But does this mean that Christians shouldn’t pause and reflect on the turning of the calendar. Time—seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years—is a gift to us from a good God. To wisely follow him, then, is to redeem our time.

New Years can also remind us of the new birth.  Setting goals for a new year are an important sign for —work and business, home, and church. In this age, we’re blessed with an abundance of resources to help us to maximize our time: digital tools, productivity experts, and inspirational blogs.

So, whether we’re making concrete goals or more abstract ones, whether we’re writing down resolutions or foregoing them altogether, there are important steps we can take, as we peer into 2024.

In January, the year is young, and the opportunities seem fresh.   In the words of hymnwriter Thomas Obediah Chisholm (1866-1960):

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness , To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

In a cursed and tumultuous world, creation itself reminds of God’s great faithfulness. Every new season is a testimony, a signpost, to grace. So, the proper response to the past year, whether good or bad, is not “I made it through” or “Look what I achieved.” It is “Thank you, Lord.”

So, as we make our plans for 2024, let’s remember that even in our failures, we are here to serve God. We make plans, but we hold them lightly. We entrust our future, to the King who holds the world in his hands. Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God. ...

May your year be filled with Peace, Prosperity, and Love. May God's blessings shower upon you and bestow upon each of you a bright, healthy, and peaceful new year.