Well, here we are! January 2023- A New Year!!! What does this new year hold in store for us? Can we make an attempt at a guess? Maybe yes, maybe no! Should we even try? There are some givens for this new year. There will be joys along with sorrows. Some will be sick this year, and some will be healthy all year. Some will have problems, and some will breeze through 2023 with seemingly not a care in the world. How do we deal with the long list of situations we may face in the coming year? Let’s see, shall we try?
Let’s begin with “can I or we make it on our own?” The answer to that is a resounding NO! Some folks make new year’s resolutions at this time of year. We’ve heard them all, maybe done them all, haven’t we? “I’m going to lose weight this year.” Nothing wrong with that one is there? I think all of us could stand to live a healthier lifestyle. And one of the ways we can live a healthier lifestyle is by eating right. Here’s another, “I’m going to start exercising to start the new year.” Again, that sounds like a great resolution, doesn’t it? Walking, running, working out, going to the gym- all great ideas! The list of resolutions could go on and on and on. Obviously, the intent is good. But the follow-up tends to be much more difficult, doesn’t it?
So, what about making it on our own? We’ve already determined that’s impossible. We need each other! Spouses, children, siblings, parents, church friends, pastors, and best friends are all great helps in making it through life. But I believe the greatest help in “making it” comes from God.
Psalm 46 says “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The reality is that there will be difficult times, but God promises to be our refuge. When life jumps up and kicks us in the teeth, where do we turn? God has not failed us yet. And He never will. He has promised to be with us in the midst of troubles and trials. We sometimes think that when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances that God has abandoned us, but this is not the case.
But as we look ahead at 2023, we can rest assured that God is also with us during the good times. Matter of fact, the reason we have good times, is because of God. Psalm 16:2 says, “I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’”
Maybe the best resolution we could make for this coming new year of 2023 would be to let God be God totally in our lives. Let’s quit trying to depend upon self and learn more about depending on God. If I, Tim Lewis, have learned nothing else in the past year 2022, it’s that I can’t do it by myself. Some circumstances are just beyond my capabilities to solve. I’m not super pastor. Most of you have figured that out by now. But God does not require or ask me to be super pastor. Nor does he require you to be super parishioner. All He desires is for us to lean more on Him. Again, the psalmist may cover it best. Psalm 3:5 and 6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Maybe that is the best resolution of all for 2023! I leave you with this blessing from Numbers 6:24-26.
“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”