Romans 9:33 See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.
Most people look at the dawning of a New Year with hope and expectation. Realizing how much was not accomplished, they plan the future year. Not satisfied with their current life or appearance, people look to make changes and promises for themselves in the new year. You and I know how long it takes for these year-end strategies and promises to end. Maybe a week will pass. If we are really determined a month will go by and the new pledges and activities will slide out of sight and mind. When I say most people I am including we Christians. Everyone is guilty of planning and charting a new direction in life only to see that trusting our plans to our will and power is another lesson in misplaced trust.
A more mature Christian approach is in trusting Jesus for our new year. Jesus never guaranteed we would get everything we wanted in life. He never promised that we would not age over time. Our ability to work and achieve would always be limited by our humanity. In fact His will for our lives will cause much failure and pain in our lives. Yet we struggle against Him each new year with a self-centered agenda that fails to encapsulate His will for us individually and as a family of believers.
“Jesus Christ is the foundation of the faith and the hope that form and inform a life of naked trust. Jesus assured us of two things: his presence and his promise. Jesus never guaranteed that we would be spared suffering or victimization by evil-doing; in fact he said flatly, “In the world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). What he promised was that during our desolate hours there would be one set of foot prints. The trusting disciple, often through clenched teeth, says, in effect, God is still trustworthy, but not because of unrestricted power to intervene on my behalf, he is trustworthy because of a promise given and sustained in Christian communities throughout generations.” (Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin’s Path to God, by Brennan Manning, pg. 94)
As the New Year begins, renew your commitment to trusting God with your future. Call out to him for guidance, wisdom and faith. He never fails to give these gifts to those who ask.
Jericho Road Ministries: Chapel Service. Rev. Bruce W. Gimbel.
