 | alexemilym Dec 31 | New Years use to be an anticipated event in my book. Every year I would spend the first few minutes past midnight laying it before the Lord and asking Him to lead me in His specific, tailor-made ways for that year. Year after year I have precious memories recorded of past January Firsts, alone before the Lord in the wee hours of the new day. The action of thinking big of God and opening my life up to His leading afresh was exciting and affirming to my faith. Until 2019 that is. Something changes in your mind after traumatic events happen that make dreaming of the future very difficult to handle. That year, having had our first miscarriage in April and having buried our second daughter only one month before Christmas, I was dreading the "new year". The thought of making my life more available to "whatever" the Lord would give felt threatening in one extreme and disappointing on another. I felt like a crushed flower. Dreaming and making room for hope was the last thing I could do in my state of survival. Grief has made itself welcome in my life the last four years since then, making its rounds in waves to new seasons clashing with old ones. This week as we approach a new year, I anticipate those fresh hours of the newborn year, and these thoughts come to my mind as I know I am not the only one who has danced with grief this year. So this post is for you. You who are scared to dream or hope. You who feel wilted in spirit. You who needs to remember that the new year is for you, just as much as it is for the person next to you. These thoughts are to bring encouragement and comfort to your heavy heart. - I still come
Whether I am struck with fear over what the new year can hold, I still come. I meet my Jesus in those quiet moments when no one is around because even when my brain says I am "just surviving" my God says He's providing and that He is a perfect Father. I put aside the fight to protect myself from the unknown and choose to lean into what I DO know. I know He is kind. I know He is faithful. I KNOW He's still working. He is the source and I choose to come and ask of Him because He's my life. Not the things taken from me and not the things I have. Keep going to Him, asking of Him and thinking big of God, friend. Even in your grief. - "New" in "New Year" doesn't demand change
It is easy to feel overwhelmed at the idea that something has to change when grief or difficulty reminds you that life is not in your control. New Year reminds you that there is a fresh start but we often know the hard things in life won't magically "restart". Change is desired, but so out of reach, making it a deflating idea. Instead of being discouraged at your lack of change this upcoming season, turn your eyes to the one who HAS all control. It's easy to let the hard things surrounding you determine how you perceive the future, but as believers (all the time, but especially in sorrow) we must cling to our God who IS in control, the God who makes ALL things new and who doesn't change so that WE can change in the ways that NEED to happen. The lack of circumstantial change may be the very thing that is bringing God's good and sanctifying change in your life by molding you into His image. There is change happening, but let's prize the right kind of change that will never fade, fail, or perish. Heavenly change (heavenly productivity) feels backwards to our flesh, but it holds the truest fulfillment of living for God's imperishable kingdom. Let this new year press you into what God may be changing in you over what you wish could be changing on the outside. Be reminded that God is still in the work of making all things new, including you. - Don't be afraid to hope
Hope is a scary thing in waiting and enduring seasons. It's the kind of thing that's easy to tuck in your proverbial back pocket to have "just in case" life takes an upward turn. But hope is a word that is full of God and one that is rooted in faith. Believers who have given their lives to God now live to please Him. Hope becomes a declaration of faith that you trust God when things don't make sense. Which means hope is called for when you don't see life's upward turn yet. It matters most when the "unseen" is near. But when we choose to trust God's promised intentions for our lives, it flows out of us as hope. No, we can't place that hope and faith in something not promised like better health, more children or a wealth of income - but when your hope is anchored in what is promised, it is the most concrete, factual and unmoving desire we can ever pursue. Don't be afraid to hope - because true hope builds faith in the person of God who is pleased with that faith. I pray these short reminders to lean into God's nature this New Year is an encouragement to you, in whatever season you are. He is the gentle Shepherd who knows, cares and enters each day with fresh purpose and hope. He is graciously GOOD. | | | |  | You can also reply to this email to leave a comment. | | | | |
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