New Year, Same God

We often hear the phrase “New Year, New Me” posted and repeated all over at the beginning of each year. We, and even our friends and families, have big ambitions and goals to define the new year but how many of us can actually stick to them for a whole 365 days?

Going into the new year, almost everyone we know has try-hard goals. To travel more, to read more books, to lose the weight, and so on. While these are good goals, can we ever truly be fully satisfied when we finally reach it? Fortunately, we have a God that is non-stop and constantly on the move working for our good, we just have to receive Him and allow Him to complete it.

This new year, instead of asking God to move in the way we want Him to, we can ask Him to continue to work in us for His glory and purpose instead of our own vanity. God’s desire for us is so far beyond our travel and body goals because they are eternal goals that He wants us to achieve.

The lie we so often believe about faith is that it is something we alone have the power to nurture. It’s our job to draw closer to God. It’s our job to spend time in the Word with him. It’s our job to pray and do devotionals so that we won’t forget about the Lord’s presence or fall astray. But, what we should remember amidst the try-hard and obsessive goal-setting mentalities in the world we live in is that our God is the source of all gospel-centered life change.

As Paul wrote in Philippians 2:13 – For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him (NLT). God is constantly working in us and He will bring us to completion in His perfect time, not within the limit of 365 days. The growth, love, and trust we have for Him isn’t something we should nurture on our own. God is all mighty and powerful and He provides for every step of the way.

This new year, my prayer is that we find satisfaction in fulfilling the Lord’s eternal plans for us and continue to remember His power and glory over all.