A New Vision For A New Year

2022 is over. 2023 is here—and the old year is behind us. It is History and cannot be altered or changed. Undoubtedly there is much in it we would like to change, some things we wish we had done differently, something left undone, some regret, and hopefully some good too. Each of us must admit that each of us could have done better and every man ought to do better than he is doing. We all fall very short of what is God's expectation for us. The first thing we should do is ask ourselves two important questions: "Do I believe that God has a plan for my life?" and "Do I believe that at the heart of this plan is His desire to lead me and teach me?"

As we begin a new year, and as we contemplate our resolutions for 2023, It is a good time to reflect on the year that is over and look forward to the year ahead with holy anticipation. It is also a good time for God’s people to take inventory of our walk with the Lord. We should take a very close look at where we are in our relationship with Him. We need to examine ourselves and see where we have been, where we are, and where the Lord wants us to be. It is important for us to have a good relationship with God and to know Him, to be able to communicate with Him and have a sense of Him working and living in our lives.

Some portion of scripture comes to my mind, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23) These words were penned by Jeremiah in the book of Lamentations in a terrible situation. Jeremiah said two things concerning the steadfast love of the Lord.

First “They fail not or never ceases." God never fails to be compassionate. Because God’s love is steadfast his mercy and compassion will continue on through eternity.

Second “His mercies are new every morning” … Every time we wake up, God’s mercies are new. We don’t need to worry about God’s mercy running dry. God’s mercies are new every morning. Not only did we have the mercies and compassions of God when we got saved, but we have them now—new every morning. Every morning we have fresh instances of God’s compassion toward us!

--He gives us the life and breath we need to live.

--He provides the sunshine and the rain we need to grow our crops.

--He gives us jobs so we can pay our bills and feed our family.

--He gives us the birds to sing to wake us up and bring a smile to our faces.

--He paints beautiful sunrises and sunsets across the sky for our enjoyment.

--He smiles upon us each day with more blessings than we can possibly think of or imagine.

We receive mercy and compassion not because we are faithful, but because God is faithful. It’s his faithfulness to his promise that allows us to receive his mercies.

When your heart becomes overwhelmed by the circumstances of life, and you feel that even God has deserted you. Remember, His mercies, His compassions, and His faithfulness and you will be able to have hope in the midst of any storm. It is God's will for us to live victoriously in this New Year, and we can! Yes, we can live without hopelessness, fear, and frustration in the New Year before us if we are committed to the Lord Jesus Christ and confident of all His promises to us. We have to be that example. He is the source. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him. To live in victory, we need to follow God’s plan for us.

Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Our lives are like ships at sea. Our resolutions are the rudders that guide the ships. However, with no effectual Marine engines, our ships will remain stranded no matter how much we fiddle with the rudders. No matter how dedicated we are to our resolutions, success will not matter unless we do them to glorify and serve God. We can’t accomplish any goals without God’s help. Prayer is the means to ask God to stand by us during our trials and our efforts. Our resolutions might be pure, but we need to allow God to be part of the process and pray to Him for support, help, and guidance. We need to let Him into our souls and heart and give Him the space to help us fulfill our resolutions and our visions. As Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing” (John, 15:5). Let us stay connected to the vine (Christ) and bear fruit with His help and assistance.