By Lenore Buth
Every time we start a new year or begin something new it feels a bit like stepping off a cliff.
We can’t know for sure what’s ahead of us or whether we’ll be able to handle it. As surely as scouts explore new terrain, you and I will travel through unknown and unpredictable territory.
To some, that sounds exciting. Others of us are saying, "Yeah, sure, but what if ... ?"
Surprises are guaranteed, even when we plan to stay in the same place with the same people around us. After all, no human being is fixed and unchanging like, say, a cardboard box.
It’s good also to take stock of where we’ve been
When we look back and reflect on where we've been it helps us make sense of yesterday. We can replay happy days and savor what was good, because the good is always present, even in our hard times. If we look for it.
Perhaps for the first time we will see God’s hand in how we made it through trials that threatened to overwhelm us. Or we may gain fresh insight into understanding ourselves and others. All this plays into how we keep a balanced perspective for living.
Best of all is when we grasp who we are in Jesus and see how we've grown in trusting him.
Before, we may have written off the last year or a past experience as a total waste. That’s never true. Let’s remind ourselves to let our hearts be glad. Let our hearts be glad.
Ah, there's the rub, isn't it?
Some of us, even us Christians, are afraid to be happy about anything in our lives. It feels risky to believe things are going well because we "just know" it won't or can't last.
It's as if we feel any gladness might "break the spell."
Then there are the people firmly convinced they were born under a curse. They announce it to anyone within earshot. It may be plain to see these individuals are hurting, but they argue that’s not true. The easy thing would be to turn away, but Jesus made no exceptions when he said we are to "do unto others as we would they do unto us."
He calls us to listen, really listen, with an ear to understanding rather than waiting to jump in and change the subject. Always, we ask God to give us words that heal instead of words that drip acid on wounded places.
The Apostle Paul's letters offer suggestions on how we are to live, as in Ephesians 4:1-3:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ESV
When looking back hurts
Some of us only want to forget. Forgetting would seem the easy way but that doesn't wipe out past pain. What benefits us is to resolve not to waste the hard stuff of life.
There’s no better time to peel off the bandages we plastered over our wounds and allow ourselves to feel whatever emotions may surface. Then we take an honest look at them through the scope of who we are in Christ. Lessons for life often hide just below the scabs.
Then we need to let it go for good, so healing can begin:
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 NLT
Whatever the situation, past or present, God knows and God loves you and me, even though we keep failing to live up even to our own standards.
I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul. Psalm 31:7 ESV
Let’s be fair to ourselves
As we look back we may realize we showed more inner strength than we gave ourselves credit for at the time. That’s reason for thanks and praise.
Did we blow it now and then? Consider it proof that like everyone else, we are imperfect people. That's why Jesus came, remember?
A long-ago offense or disagreement might come to mind. If so, we first confess our part in it to our kind and loving Heavenly Father and then pray for guidance. Sometimes simply asking forgiveness heals the rift. Sometimes we need to make amends as best we can, but that may not be possible. Then we give whatever “baggage” remains to Jesus.
Knowing for sure that Jesus died for all our sins enables us to forgive others in the same way.
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13 NIV
As we grow, our faith grows
We need humble, teachable hearts to live the Jesus way--and God will give them if we ask. As we learn and grow we will look for--and see--His hand in every part of life.
Still, what lies ahead of us remains always unknown. This day is yesterday's tomorrow--and that holds true every day of every year. When we belong to God's family through faith in Jesus as our Savior, we never walk through any day alone.
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 NIV
Let’s take the Apostle Paul’s words to our hearts and be warmed by them, strengthened for whatever comes:
May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. -Ephesians 3:17b-21 NLT