Pastor's Blog: Good News for a New Year!
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One of the worst parts of turning the calendar page from one year to the next is that we are inundated with messages intended to convince us that something is radically wrong with us and we need to commit ourselves full-bore in the New Year to make the necessary changes. You know what I’m talking about. These sorts of ads are relentless, promising to help us lose weight or exercise more or drop a bad habit – and all for a bargain price. While these ads always seem to get our attention (and strike a guilt chord or two in the process), we never seem to be able to follow through in seeing the changes materialize. To quote Jesus, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
Maybe it’s better for us to quote Jesus in another way. On the day in his hometown of Nazareth when Jesus was given the honor of reading the Scripture and offering an exposition, he turned to Isaiah 61, saying: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). Jesus clearly saw his ministry as one of calling people to a new way of life that connected them to God’s choicest blessing.
At this season of the year we hear people greeting one another with “Happy New Year!” That’s a good greeting and one I trust we’ll not only give to others but claim for ourselves. It’s not sufficient for us to think of the coming days as more and harder work; it’s much better that we anticipate the months before us as ones overflowing with divine favor.
Of course, in order to know such favor, we would be wise to trust our ways to God, recognizing our limitations in making the changes we know are necessary. While the harsh truth is that we are incapable of transforming ourselves, the good news is that God can change anyone who looks to Him to do what he or she is incapable of doing.
So, even if you fear a new year will be more of the same drab days as the old one, think again. With God, all things are possible; and when you look to Him for the help only He can provide, as the old children’s song puts it: “Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.”
"Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”(Isaiah 43:19).