If you’re like me, you’re probably getting tired of hearing about 2020 and what a horrible year it was. I do have to admit that some of the jokes and memes are pretty funny, but aren’t you ready to move on? I read the other day that one year equals 365 possibilities. The truth is, practically speaking, we don’t live our lives one year at a time, but rather one day or even one hour or one minute at a time.
That’s why New Year resolutions are hardly ever successful. We plan to do something or stop doing something for a whole year, when in reality, we don’t even know what tomorrow holds. Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t plan and live our lives responsibly, but in my experience, most of my anxiety comes about when I leave the present and start to live in the past or in the future. Don’t we all do that?
We regret our past and we worry about our future. When all the while, God is saying to us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
At our homeless shelters, I meet men and women regularly who believe their past defines them and their futures have no hope. They are seemingly stuck in a world that is passing them by. When the truth is, “There is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”, according to Romans 8.
If we are in Christ, we are not condemned by our past, 2020, and we are set free from the penalties of our sin. Set free to live for Him. Set free from worry because we can trust Him and His plan for our lives.
I hope and pray that this new year will not present the same degree of tragedy and pain that we experienced in 2020, but I do know this. Every day is full of promise and possibility with God … even when times are hard.
