Soon it will be the beginning of the New Year, 2017! It seems impossible to me that we have already moved so far into the new millennium. It seems like just yesterday that preachers were hysterically warning congregations about the technological and economic meltdown that would occur at midnight on December 31, 1999. People were warned not to be in an elevator or on an airplane since everything would fall apart at the stroke of midnight!
And the doomsday predictions don’t stop. As recently as 2012, another prophecy went unfulfilled as the world continued to turn after December 21, the date some expected it to end along with the days on the Mayan calendar.
Such insanity aside, I still like New Year’s Eve, and the promise it implies. Like many, I make promises to myself (I refuse to call them resolutions since they never seem to last), and my promises encourage me that this year things will be different!
Charles Lamb said, “New Year’s Day is every man’s birthday.” That means we’ve all got a birthday coming up. This gives us a chance to reflect a little bit on the past 365 days and to focus a lot on the next 365 days.
If we so choose, we can wipe the slate clean from yesterday and begin a new day. There’s nothing special about January 1 of course, but there is something special about the decision to break away from old habits and develop new ones. It can be done any day, but January 1 is as good a day as any. The important thing is to devote oneself to elevated goals and meaningful growth.
It was said of Hezekiah: “In everything he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.” (2 Chronicles 31:21)
A decision to seek God more and serve Him without reservation — this is a great way to begin the New Year, or any new day.
Don’t expect to find dire prophecies or impending doom here. Certainly, there will come a day when the world will end, but God is in charge of that. Our job is to live every day to its fullest, seeking our God and working wholeheartedly.
May this be the resolution that will bring prosperity to you in 2017.
With Love,
Mike Tucker
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