By Robin Sam
AS 2022 passes and we enter into a New Year, at least some of us would be making resolutions for the upcoming year. While some consider losing or gaining weight, others ponder over other ‘weighty’ issues like investments, profits, acquiring newer assets and new entrepreneurial projects. Some world-weary lot among us would be cautious about making any resolution at all – knowing that such ‘silly’ decisions not only mean anything but they don’t add up to anything finally. Whether you fall into one group or the other, we all knowingly or unknowingly weigh our lives and make an assessment of time and resources spent versus what we gained or lost in the pursuit of a better life.
2023 is here upon us! We don’t know what is in store for us in the New Year despite what our very own homegrown seers would like to prophesy. Broadly, there are three things that every believer can do at the beginning of each New Year that the gracious Lord is kind enough to grant us.
1. REVIEW YOUR LIFE
This need not be as rigorous as auditors’ assessment of profit or loss but review you must. Go back to the start of the previous year and look at what your priorities and aspirations were at the beginning of that year. Now, make an honest assessment of how much of those were accomplished in the last 12 months. How many of those were related to the Kingdom of God? I thought about this myself. Last year, God helped me complete two projects to the glory of His Name. Both projects were gargantuan tasks which sapped a lot of my energy, took a lot of my time and resources. They were in my mind for a long time. I knew at some point in my life I would have to begin and complete them. Well, I am glad that the good Lord helped me complete them. Was it easy? You bet it wasn’t! There were times when the tasks seemed to completely overwhelm me. I had doubts about my competence and skills to accomplish them. There were several moments of struggle and despair but after the projects were launched, I knew they were worth it.
In Isaiah 43:26 (NLT), God tells Israel this: ‘Let us review the situation together, and you can present your case to prove your innocence.’ Despite Israel’s many failings and Jacob’s unfaithfulness, God gives the nation a chance to speak for themselves. He says: ‘If you choose to review the past, let’s go to trial.’
Setting out to accomplish your dreams and aspirations is one thing, how you fulfill them is another. Our victories should not be secured at the cost of someone else’s vision. They will taste sweet if we have won them through our own sweat and blood.
2. RECLAIM YOUR PROMISES
When we begin your walk with God, we earnestly claim the promises of God concerning your life. As years go by, due to either the strife in the path or unfaithfulness on our part we would have forgotten promises and prophecies concerning us. A new year is a good time to go back to God, repent for our waywardness and reclaim those promises.
Samson asked God for one last chance towards the end of his life. Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” (Judges 16:28). God heard his prayer and gave him the strength and the opportunity to annihilate the Philistines.
Apostle Paul knew what it was to suffer hunger, hardship, pain, betrayal, loneliness, stonings, beatings and shipwreck but his faith in God and His Word kept him going. In 2 Timothy 1:12 he says: “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.”
3. BE READY TO REPORT BACK
Beginning the new year with the knowledge that this could perhaps be our last year on earth helps us not only avoid our past mistakes but also keep us ready to stand before the Living God. Even as I write this message there are reports a new variant of Covid-19 has been detected in India. Scientists say SARS CoV-2 is now a human virus and is here to stay. So, brace for more infections, more vaccinations and more deaths, health experts have warned.
The Bible warns us the last days will be terrible. There will be widespread famine, plagues, earthquakes, disasters and death in the world. The world is getting ready for the grand finale that the Bible calls as the battle of Armageddon. That will be the final showdown between God’s armies and the forces of the antichrist.
No matter how things play out, remember the world is going through her final chapters. The end is near. Are you ready to meet your Creator and report on the life you lived?
I hope we (I who write and you who read the message) are ready to meet with God. If you are not, I urge you to make peace with God here and now. Strive to live each day like it’s your last day. God bless you! Happy New Year!
The writer is the editor of The Christian Messenger, India’s leading evangelical magazine. He is also the founder and director of Messenger Missions.Â
