New Year’s
Day is about over. Now what should my feelings be about what I have just left
behind? What should be my emotions as I look ahead to the next 364 days? Do I
grieve or celebrate over the past? Do I look ahead with eager anticipation or do
I fear each coming day?
I find it
easy to get in a dark funk thinking about the things that went wrong last year
and might again. Then the sun comes up, I get out of bed, get busy with the affairs
of the day, and all those fears seem to disappear. This is not exactly how God
wants his children to face the beginning of the day.
The opposite
attitude has a common name, a Pollyanna perspective. You just know everything
will turn out fine. Everyone will be happy. The best will always be the result
and everybody will love the world. I meet someone like that and I just get mad.
Was last
year all that bad? It had its moments I wish could have been avoided. Were
there any moments of joy and satisfaction? Because there weren’t as many as I
might have wished, doesn’t mean there were none.
If last year
was a typical year in the life of yours truly, I have no reason to believe the
next will not be the same. Events will be different. People involved will be
different. The world around us will be different. However, the joyful times
will be present. The times of sorrow will have their place. So do I celebrate
or do I grieve?
An old bit
of wisdom goes something like this: If you can affect what you face for the
positive, then do it. If you cannot affect what you are facing, then don’t
worry about. Act or refocus, but don’t allow yourself to wallow in a sense of
helplessness. Jesus told his followers in Matthew 6:34 to stay focused on the
current moment. Tomorrow will provide plenty of opportunity to handle its
unique set of challenges.
Today has
its priorities. We must discover them and focus upon them. Jesus confronted one
of his close friends in just this matter when he told Martha her sister was
focused on the real priority of life and she should perhaps follow suit. (Luke
10:38-42)
The Apostle
Peter in his first letter (I Peter 5:7) encourages his readers to leave their
worries in the hands of God, much as Jesus did back in Matthew 6. We are to
cast our cares upon the heart of God. We are NOT to come back a few hours later
and ask for them back!
Perhaps the
word I quote to myself most is the message the Apostle Paul wrote to the church
in Philippi. (Philippians 4:6-7) There is always something we can do with our
worries, our griefs, and our sorrows. Following Peter’s words we can take everything
to God in prayer. Now does that mean we get our prayers answered according to
our human wisdom. We have no guarantee God will see our solutions as the best
ones. He simply asks us to bring our burdens, fears, and worries to him and
leave them there.
As we
surrender our will to him, God will be able to provide us with what is
necessary to face whatever is coming down to the road. We will receive the
peace that comes from knowing someone smarter and stronger than we are is in
control. Prayer and petitions combined with a willingness to offer them up with
thanksgiving opens our spirits to the work of God’s Spirit. Then miracles can
take place.
Maybe the
sorrows will come. Perhaps the reasons for joy may appear rare. The miracle may
be most obvious in our attitude about trusting God to handle the situations we
face each day without our effort to tell him what to do.
This year
will have both joys and sorrows, victories and defeats. I can celebrate. I will
learn from the sorrows and I will share the joys. God will be with me through
both offering the gift of peace.
