Change is scary. Change makes the average individual cling to the familiar. So it’s no stretch to say that at the end of one year and the beginning of another, we tend to respond to the prospects of change with fear based on what we see in the temporal.
As a believer, I welcome change.
Isaiah writes, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” (Isaiah 43:18)
Paul reminds us, For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
In football, a team is most successful, not when it is watching the scoreboard, but rather when the team focuses on putting itself into scoring position.
Same for believers! As this New Year dawns, take your eyes off the scoreboard of your life for a moment and focus on how the providential acts of God are putting you into scoring position - even when the facts appear contrary!
Use your energy to engage in a simple, non-judgmental method for divining your own lessons and looking forward to the blessings the New Year will bring.
Look at your wins, your losses and who was your most faithful teammate.
The Wins
What Was Your Signal Achievement?
A ‘losing season’ is when the W’s are outpaced by the L’s. In so many ways, you experienced more of the former than the latter. Even if you have endured a “losing season” this year, the fact that you have made it this far is an incredible win.
Look at each area of your life: health, finances, relationship etc. Which area did you see the most significant improvement in? Maybe you managed to lose ten pounds; perhaps you saved money; maybe you either found the perfect mate or you worked up the courage to leave a relationship that was not in your best interest.
Here’s the point: you achieved something significant in some part of your life. Identify that area and hang your hat on it. It represents the building block for the next year.
The Losses
What Did You Learn from Your Biggest Fumble?
By contrast, you may have – like many of us – made a huge mistake in some area of your life. Maybe you spent too much money; perhaps you didn’t get to the gym enough. Or maybe it was accepting a career change offer that turned out to be the job from hell. It could be a host of things. In football, we call this phenomenon a ‘fumble’. Fumbles cost teams a loss of downs and usually puts the team out of scoring position. But many teams have overcome fumbles and gone on to win championships! Can I tell you that in spite of any blunders in your life, you are still a child of the Most High King?
The key is to ask, what did I learn? The answer to this could very well lead to greater success in the New Year.
The Teammate
Who Stood by You the Most?
In the great game of life, it’s always a good thing to have good teammates - those who stand by you, comfort you and challenge you to be better.
This is where it gets dicey; most people have been hurt by relationships and this causes them to clam up and not want to allow their guards down. Try to think beyond personal relationships, though. Don’t be afraid to ask: Who gave me the best advice? Who told me when I was right and when I was wrong? Who spoke life into my dreams? Who prayed for me and with me?
The best teammate is the person who will do everything humanly possible to help get and keep you into scoring position. Do not worry about those who abandoned you. Focus on the person who stuck with you.
If you know what your biggest achievements were, if you own your blunders and if you can identify your most endearing friendship, you still may not have the year you imagined, but I can guarantee that if you keep your eyes on Christ, you will have a wonderful perspective on your life – and you will be a winner. For, in Christ, we are winning even when we are losing!
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Download my new E-Line book How to Build Your Belief Power at http://www.pastorwericcroomes.com