2024 is here and with it comes a sense of freshness… new things just ahead! We have new planners and calendars, new Christmas gifts to put to good use, and new plans to get started. In some ways, all the newness can be overwhelming; the next few weeks we have to get used to writing a ‘24 as the date, you might feel sad closing the book on your 2023 planner that has seen so much, or maybe the goals you set weren’t accomplished and another year has gone by with things left undone. As sung, “time keeps on slippin’ into the future”. There’s no way to stop it, but is there an easier way to embrace it?
Oftentimes we share our New Year Resolutions: dreams and desires for our future self, focusing on producing more, wasting less, bettering ourselves, sloughing away the qualities we find detrimental. While the intentions are good, they are misguided if not directed by the one who created you. What we see in our earthly understanding cannot begin to unravel the vast dimensions of thought God has behind the plans for our lives. Listed below are a few verses that you can read (or recall from memory), then ponder what promise they show as you think about what’s in store for 2024:
Jeremiah 29:11 – God has plans already set into motion! He is working in your life and has plans for your future, and they are good because they come from a Heavenly Father who is all things good!
Genesis 50:20 – We are living in an evil world, and that means we aren’t immune to it, but God has already conquered evil so we can trust He will work any situation for His purposes and plans which are good.
Romans 8:28 – God is good, and as we serve Him and follow His lead, all things work together for good; for God.
Romans 5:8 – God loved us at our worst and sacrificed His only son for us, so we know His love is pure and good and not based on anything we could possibly say or do.
2024 can be a year of goodness. While we don’t know what’s in store for the future we can trust that God has a plan and purpose, that He is already way ahead of us even as we face trials and difficulties, and that following where He leads will keep us headed in the right direction.
Very rarely, you’ll hear the phrase “in the year of our Lord….”. What would 2024 look like if we gave the year to our Lord? Would you have more on your plate or less? Would you give more freely of yourself, or would you frequent the receiving end? How would God use you in the time and place that He has set your life in motion? I encourage you to prayerfully discern what God is revealing to you as you make plans and resolutions for this new year.
Rachel Haseley, Communications Coordinator
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