[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during January 2024]
It is that time of year again, the old calendar is discarded, three becomes four.
Do you look back at the year just gone and recall the disappointments, missed opportunities and sub-optimal decisions? All those new year resolutions that turned out to be nothing more than short-lived intentions; maybe you can recycle them yet again for this year. Do you identify with the Psalmist when he wrote:
We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a groan. Psalm 90 v9 [NLT]
Perhaps you can look back at the past year, content with the satisfaction that comes from having ticked all the boxes. There will be more boxes to tick this year but you anticipate them with confidence. You share the Psalmist’s gratitude for the blessings of the past year.
You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. Psalm 65 v11 [NLT]
Starting a new year is reminiscent of starting a new exercise book at school. What we will write about is largely outside our control but the way in which we write is up to us. We start with a tidy page, straight lines, clear script, no smudges or corrections. Contrast that with the final pages of the book: illegible scrawl, lackadaisical spelling, symptoms of indifference. A new year, like a new book, gives us the opportunity to make a fresh start.
Do you recall that predictable verdict at the end of each school term – ‘Could try harder’? So easy for a teacher to write, so difficult for a pupil to achieve, but often written with more than a grain of truth. Having dismissed new year’s resolutions as passing fads, nevertheless perhaps there are some areas of our lives where we could try harder.
Are there any activities in the church or local community which would benefit from an extra volunteer? Would the time spent watching TV be better spent in Bible study? Could an entertainment subscription actually achieve more of lasting value if it were to be invested in the foodbank? Such lifestyle changes can be hard but there will be a reward for the effort.
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14 v23 [NIVUK]
As we embark on a new cycle of summer and winter, springtime and harvest, we can say, with respect, with sincerity and with confidence that God only knows what opportunities and challenges await us. These well-known words from an Old Testament prophet were written many years ago but they have a special relevance for a new year.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29 v11 [NIVUK]
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Preceding reflection: Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?
Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
Thank you for this Steve and Happy New Year.