A new year has arrived in the harbour of hope.
Its cargo: dreams, ambitions, resolutions and unfinished business.
At the end of every year, I usually sit down and reflect on what happened in the past months. Sometimes I even sigh with great relief, telling myself "What a year!". Not so this year.
It seems strange that we identify our lives with the achievements of every year. Let's face it: who remembers the year 1998 or 2005? Years are counted by the great memories and adventures we get to experience. Some include more than others.
2018 was the year in which God has given my wife and I the greatest adventure and most beautiful memory up to date: the birth of our son. Nothing - no matter how negative - can surpass that experience.
Of course, many of us have to come face to face with harsher realities, like the passing of a family member, news of a grave illness, financial debt, and so on.
But life is also measured by how we overcome obstacles. I found myself guilty in the past year of confronting difficulties with the wrong attitude. I often allowed circumstances to rise above me, and like a dark shadow, drown out the light inside. It's a horrible feeling to see yourself as defenceless and continuously swimming against a tide too strong to battle.
In the past year, I have on several occasions read how being a Christian doesn't take away struggles, suffering or pain. Being Christian helps you to identify all these and have a deep understanding of who is in control. Knowing Jesus is to know light. Knowing Jesus is to know life. Life everlasting.
When you know that your treasures are in heaven and life beyond the grave, your outlook on everything simply changes. It has to!
Living life in 2019 is going to be just as tough as living in 2018. Of course it is noble to set out goals and take control of your life by making plans.
However, scripture says that, "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." (Proverbs 16:9)
So as I am sitting in the harbour of hope - and enjoying the peace that Jesus brings - I want to check my heart. What cargo can I drop off at Jesus' feet, so that I can head back out there into the open, wild, unpredictable ocean of daily life, without stuff that's holding me back to encounter and enjoy the fullness of God's plan?!
My hope is that each one of us will listen better to what God speaks, and calls us to do and be.
Jesus must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less! That is my one and only resolution for 2019. I am trusting Him to show me how to do this. I know He will do the same with you.
Make this new year, the best year yet! Let Jesus' light sparkle in your eyes. Have a good one...
Its cargo: dreams, ambitions, resolutions and unfinished business.
At the end of every year, I usually sit down and reflect on what happened in the past months. Sometimes I even sigh with great relief, telling myself "What a year!". Not so this year.
It seems strange that we identify our lives with the achievements of every year. Let's face it: who remembers the year 1998 or 2005? Years are counted by the great memories and adventures we get to experience. Some include more than others.
2018 was the year in which God has given my wife and I the greatest adventure and most beautiful memory up to date: the birth of our son. Nothing - no matter how negative - can surpass that experience.
Of course, many of us have to come face to face with harsher realities, like the passing of a family member, news of a grave illness, financial debt, and so on.
But life is also measured by how we overcome obstacles. I found myself guilty in the past year of confronting difficulties with the wrong attitude. I often allowed circumstances to rise above me, and like a dark shadow, drown out the light inside. It's a horrible feeling to see yourself as defenceless and continuously swimming against a tide too strong to battle.
In the past year, I have on several occasions read how being a Christian doesn't take away struggles, suffering or pain. Being Christian helps you to identify all these and have a deep understanding of who is in control. Knowing Jesus is to know light. Knowing Jesus is to know life. Life everlasting.
When you know that your treasures are in heaven and life beyond the grave, your outlook on everything simply changes. It has to!
Living life in 2019 is going to be just as tough as living in 2018. Of course it is noble to set out goals and take control of your life by making plans.
However, scripture says that, "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." (Proverbs 16:9)
So as I am sitting in the harbour of hope - and enjoying the peace that Jesus brings - I want to check my heart. What cargo can I drop off at Jesus' feet, so that I can head back out there into the open, wild, unpredictable ocean of daily life, without stuff that's holding me back to encounter and enjoy the fullness of God's plan?!
My hope is that each one of us will listen better to what God speaks, and calls us to do and be.
Jesus must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less! That is my one and only resolution for 2019. I am trusting Him to show me how to do this. I know He will do the same with you.
Make this new year, the best year yet! Let Jesus' light sparkle in your eyes. Have a good one...
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