Happy New Year!
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord,
plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. - Jeremiah 29:11
While I was a student at Wofford, the college’s athletic teams made the jump to NCAA Division I. That year our men’s basketball team was ranked dead last in the preseason poll. The coach made jokes like, “We can only get better from here” and “No matter what happens, I know we won’t get any worse than we are right now.” Those early seasons were a struggle, but since then Wofford has been to the NCAA tournament five times and won multiple regular season and conference tournament championships. The 2018-19 season saw Wofford make its first appearance in the top 25 and the mighty Terriers become Cinderella story of the NCAA Tournament.
This bit of basketball history came to mind as I look back on 2020. This was a year that started with promise and excitement that collapsed in the throes of a global pandemic. Before washing our hands of 2020, let us be reminded that God has done good things this year. Also like 2020, the new year will bring good things in the face of continuing challenges. The one thing we must not and cannot do is give up or stop trying.
As a church family, we cannot neglect our God-given mission to follow Jesus by loving God and loving our neighbors. We can and will continue to make this mission real in our life together.
As individuals, we must also recognize that God has a calling on our lives. God has chosen you as his daughter or son and has great things in store for you. Those things may be hard to see right now, but they are real. The new year will bring both challenges and blessings, but God is with us no matter what. We can create space in our lives to help us see those good things God is doing and for God to help us overcome those challenges.
With this in mind, I have some New Year’s resolutions to recommend. I read recently that 40% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. To put that in perspective, about 33% of Americans watch the Super Bowl. Even though we keep our New Year’s resolutions with varying degrees of success, chances are a lot of you will be making them. Even if you are making the usual resolutions relating to waistlines or personal habits, I’d like to suggest four resolutions to add to your list.
1. Read your Bible – The Bible is God’s revealed Word to us. It’s as if God wrote us a letter containing the most important things ever. We deprive ourselves of those things if we don’t pick up the Bible and read.
2. Take it easy – It is easy to fill your day with activity. Try scheduling and keeping time to do something you enjoy, simply for the sake of enjoyment.
3. Remove the negative – This is a perfect time to remove from your life habits and other things that keep you from being the best you.
4. Add the positive – Removing negative elements from your life allows room for new, life-giving hobbies and pastimes. Don’t be afraid to try something new or challenging.
Regardless of whether you make New Year’s resolutions, a New Year gives us an opportunity for new beginnings. May God richly bless you in 2021!
Yours in Christ,
Thomas