With the year’s end looming, many of us are reflecting on the pains and gains of 2017. Or, we are thinking ahead to what the New Year may bring.
Last year was a rollercoaster of extreme highs and lows for me, and most of it is still a blur. I sit here typing at the end of December as I’ve done annually for the last decade pondering what I can do differently next year.
At the end of 2016, I could sense a significant change was imminent though I had no idea of just how substantial those changes would be. We were anticipating a graduation. I was pondering retirement. I never anticipated the loss that would follow.
I don’t think I am alone haunted by “should have, could have and would have,” creeping into my consciousness.
The reluctance to let go of past hurts, affronts and disappointments can make us stagnant and complacent. There is a danger in becoming so comfortable in our pain and discomfort that we don’t dare move away from the very things that make our hearts ache.
It takes more than resolve to lose weight, become fiscally responsible or keep any other resolution that enables us to move forward. Prayer and discipline are often vital to relinquishing the old, so we can grasp something new.
Whatever is wearing on you, let it go and leave it behind in 2017. Don’t drag your “baggage” into 2018. Trust me, I’ve a few things of my own I plan to leave as well.
We often fail to walk away from a job, a position, or a relationship even when God’s anointing is obviously gone. Many of us desperately hold on to something lifeless rather than become empty-handed.
Where is the wisdom in that?
What are those things you prayed for that you need to make room for?
Let go of disappointment.
Let go of regret.
Let go of the past!
Anticipate answered prayers.
Hold yourself accountable.
Grab hold to God’s unchanging hand!
Happy New Year!
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 NIV