Happy 2018!
A new year offers a new chapter, blank pages to be filled. New unknowns. New mercies. New trials and breakthroughs.
Through resolutions we make promises to ourselves and others, often focusing our efforts toward health, relationships and goals. January 1st offers hope for the healing of wounds from the past 12 months. Perhaps this year will be better than the last.
Good intentions to fulfill these resolutions, studies show, quickly dissolve; reality setts in, our efforts fall short. Not that making resolutions and setting goals are bad, in fact, they are both good and necessary. However, I wonder how often we try to accomplish these goals on our own. Surely success will come if only I try a little harder, work a little longer, learn a little more. We often find ourselves falling short and pulling up our own bootstraps only to fall short again, until giving up seems the only viable option.
Our goals are not the problem, but rather our focus, where we are finding our strength.
The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. – Proverbs 16:9
For the past 10 years I have practiced intentionally giving the first of each new year to the Lord. In a sense, a tithe. Intentionally offering the new year by setting aside the first days for prayer and fasting. What started as a dedicated 21 days has become the whole of January. This practice has challenged me to posture myself in such a way that welcomes stillness, enabling me to listen and heed direction for what is to come. A way of asking for the Lord to direct my steps.
A heart postured towards listening is soft and malleable, able to receive the necessary correction and direction. Every new year is a gift, a firm ending for a new beginning. Not that all the problems will be suddenly erased, but a new year offers space and gives some perspective on all that was, revealing areas where we may need to forgive, release, reconnect, disconnect. A new year allows us to look ahead with fresh eyes at the possibilities of what will be.
An offering requires letting go; letting go of that which we cannot control. The sacrifice of offering our own wants and desires with palms extended, up and open. In this humble position we release our grip, knowing that the very things to which we cling can be removed, but also realizing that this position creates space to receive blessings that we can in turn pour out to others.
Intentionally offering the first of the new year takes the focus off of us. It becomes less about what we can do ourselves and more about what He will do in and through each one of us. It is a way to willingly rededicate our service, our time, our talent, our treasure. It is a way to put faith into action.
This year it is my prayer that I will be more sensitive to the Father’s voice, His small whispers. I want to be an embodiment of John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” I want to hear instruction and be brave in obedience, unwavering with my yeses. Faith is an adventure, full of risks and unknowns, and I want to be brave and daring for the Kingdom’s sake, giving all glory to the Lord. I want to be an active participant, not one caught swinging her feet from the safety of the sideline bench.
As we head in to 2018 may our hearts be postured in such a way that we are positioned and ready for all that is to come. There will be plenty to do, and before we know it the newness will wear off and we will all be writing 2018 as if it always was, leaving 2017 in the rearview of yesteryear.
What will you do to posture your heart in such a way that will allow you to listen and start the year out well?
Happy New Year!