Victim or Victor
The year is gone. The time has come to put it in the rearview and move on. As we look ahead to 2023, we have a choice to make. We can accept the mantle of victim and wallow in self-pity and blame if we’ve experienced a not-what-we-hoped-for year. Or we can thumb our collective noses at the past 365 days and look forward with an attitude of I-faced-it-and-I’m-still-here victor mentality.
I know, with all that went on in 2022, it doesn’t feel much like a victory celebration. Some of us faced serious loss, of health, money, jobs, loved ones. And those are clearly blows that can be devastating…if we let them by dwelling on them. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not downplaying the seriousness of any trial you’ve gone through. It was a tough year for many of us.
But,
for those of us who know Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, His promises are what we need to focus on. Here’s just a sample: “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness…even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me…” (Ps. 23:1-4). And one more, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loves us…” (Rom. 8:37).
These three verses point to the personal relationship we have with Jesus Himself. Look at the highlighted words and imagine Jesus speaking directly just to you. The world, and specifically Satan, hates Jesus and by extension, they hate us. They will do everything in their power, e.g. forced compliance with masks and vaccines, shuttering businesses, closing schools, to try to separate us from our commitment to Christ. When our time in God’s word is anemic, it’s easy to buy into the hype of those “in charge” of our society and swallow their narrative. Their end is described in detail in Romans 1:18-32.
Psalm 33:18-19
should give us even more hope, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His lovingkindness, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.”
What better message to begin the year than a reminder for those of us in Christ that WE ARE ON THE WINNING TEAM. Our future is secure, we have an advocate (Jesus) with God Himself on our behalf, and the trials we face on this earth are “momentary, light affliction” (2 Cor.4:17). It may not seem like momentary or light while we’re in them and we may ask questions such as “why me?” or “why now?” thinking God unfair. But remember that you are God’s child and “For those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom He receives” (Heb. 12:6). “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor.5:7). Everything God does is for our good (Heb.12:10).
Consider the following
verse as “marching orders” for the new year, Phil. 3:12-14, “…but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
When we think about all we have waiting for us in heaven, all that God has done for us in Jesus to get us there, how can we not be thrilled and excited about the time being short before we are called home. New years can be a time of new beginnings, new thoughts, new habits. Has your fervor for service in the King’s army waned over the past months? Do you find your time in His word getting shorter each day? There are nearly a dozen verses from Jesus’ own lips warning us to stay alert for the time is near. Hear one example directly from Jesus, “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.” (Matt. 24:42).
Paul talks about a goal,
a prize, an upward call. What goals have we set for ourselves starting now? I don’t like to call them resolutions, because once you mess up, your guilt whispers “I knew you couldn’t do it.” But with God-honoring goals, we don’t have to be perfect. Remember the Lord’s prayer, “Forgive us this day…” That’s the good news of Jesus in a nutshell…forgiveness and new beginnings. But we have to start. Make a commitment in your heart or publicly that you will be more disciplined in your Bible time, more faithful in your prayer time, and more humble in your “me” time. If you do that, you’ll find that your “me” time will be spent more in your Bible and prayer time. Wouldn’t that be something?
The best thing to leave you with is this thought. You don’t have to do it alone. God has given us the Holy Spirit and, “when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come” (John 16;13).
Have a blessed new year trusting and serving the Lord Jesus.