whether good or bad... all things come to an end...
I was walking out of the grocery store earlier in the week attempting to make small talk with the girl carrying out my groceries. I said, "I bet you're glad for these few days between Christmas and New Years when you get a little break. It's hard to believe another year is almost over." In her young, teenage voice, she said, "Yeah, I just think that everyone is ready for this year to be done." Her comment caught me off guard and I didn't know how to respond. I just nodded and said, "Well, it's always nice to start a new year." I hopped on social media later in the day to see a lot of posts about how 2016 was "the worst" and "just needed to end." And I still didn't understand. What was it about 2016 that was so bad? And how in the world was I so out of the loop on this? Because I know a lot of people who had an incredible year. I know a lot of people who would very well say this was one of their bests. And I also know many people who were dealt a tough hand this year. People whose dreams were shattered and hearts were broken. And as I sit here thinking about another year gone by, I can't help but think back to when I was ready for one year to be over and another to start.
Five years ago I was ready for the year to be done. It had wrapped up horribly, like a bad train wreck that I never saw coming. It was, as I claimed many times over and over, the worst year of my life. And for months that's all I could see. There seemed to be nothing good. And the thing was, I was smack dab in the middle of the holidays. A time where ALL things are supposed to be good. Except when you're hurting. Pain has a way of stealing the joy from good things and so all I could think about was getting to a new year. Because maybe a new year would fix it. Maybe a new date would change everything. It would at least give me an official marker, and I could say, "Well, that was last year....". I had hoped that a new year would do the trick, and as I lay on my parents' couch that New Years Eve, at an all time low, watching a documentary over drug lords (weird, I know), I knew that 2012 would surely be better because there was no way things could possibly get worse.
A few weeks into 2012, nothing had changed. It was a new year, but I felt the same. I muddled through the first few weeks in utter disappointment because last year's pain had still found a way to make it into the new year. It didn't stay behind as I had hoped. But I had been praying. I had been seriously seeking the Lord like never before. He was the healing balm to my wounded soul, and He was the only hope I had. Praise His sweet name that two weeks into the year, He turned the tables. He confronted me in a way I desperately needed. Challenged me as He never had before. Because for months, well, years really, He had been carrying me. He had been my strength, He had been my shield. He had been my hiding place. All the things He promised He would be, He was. But it was time. It was time for me to get off the entitlement train as if God really owed me anything in the first place. And He said, "Let's turn this ship around sister. You said you wanted things to change, so here we go. Buckle your seat belt! I'm going to help you, but you've got to work with me. And if you want this year to look different from the last, then you've got change your perspective. You want 2012 to be a good year? Then here's the deal, you need to look for the good. Search it out. Be intentional to see good in every day because it's there. Everything I give you is good. And if you truly believe that I am good, then why don't you look for me every day? Seek me in everything and you'll be certain you find good."
2012 was the best year of my life. It was the most incredible year I have ever experienced as God actively drew me out of the muck and mire, answering prayer after prayer, performing miracle after miracle. But here's the thing, we have to stick our arms up and call to Him. He sees us right where we are, but if we aren't willing to move, He isn't going to force us. We can pray all we want, asking Him to change our circumstances, but often times we're the ones He is waiting on. We say, "God, this hurts! Make it better," as we bind ourselves to the life sucking boulder at the bottom of our pit. And as much as we want to move forward, we don't. Because we're scared. Let's just admit that, okay? We don't like change, and even though we don't like our circumstances, we've become comfortable with them. We've learned how to cope, and changing them just seems to be too much right now. Plus, it's work. What we really want, without actually admitting it, is for God to just snap His fingers and let us wake up when things are good. Let us just pass through this fire untouched and get to the other side as quickly as possible. Yet God says, "No way, Jose! This fire isn't to hurt you. This fire is to refine you. You're going through it, but I'll see you to the other side." It may be hot, it may be uncomfortable, but your attitude is going to play an important role and you get to be the one who controls that.
Maybe 2016 was your worst year. Maybe you're ready for the promise of a new year. The unknown can be a great comfort, especially if it's filled with anticipation of great change. Or maybe 2016 was so good that you don't want it to end. But all things, good or bad, eventually come to and end. We move on, ready or not, because God does, too. He is a God who is always doing new things. A God who doesn't live in the past. A God who is actively working and moving and leading us forward. And so if your 2016 didn't go well, praise Him that He won't take you back there. That it's just one chapter in your book of life, and a new one is about to begin. Because pages will turn. New journeys are ahead. And if you're determined that this next year will be better, if you're looking for good, then look for God. In all things. Every day. Open your eyes to see His goodness. I promise you, He'll be there.
"Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I've formed for myself, that they may proclaim my praise." - Isaiah 43:18-21
Five years ago I was ready for the year to be done. It had wrapped up horribly, like a bad train wreck that I never saw coming. It was, as I claimed many times over and over, the worst year of my life. And for months that's all I could see. There seemed to be nothing good. And the thing was, I was smack dab in the middle of the holidays. A time where ALL things are supposed to be good. Except when you're hurting. Pain has a way of stealing the joy from good things and so all I could think about was getting to a new year. Because maybe a new year would fix it. Maybe a new date would change everything. It would at least give me an official marker, and I could say, "Well, that was last year....". I had hoped that a new year would do the trick, and as I lay on my parents' couch that New Years Eve, at an all time low, watching a documentary over drug lords (weird, I know), I knew that 2012 would surely be better because there was no way things could possibly get worse.
A few weeks into 2012, nothing had changed. It was a new year, but I felt the same. I muddled through the first few weeks in utter disappointment because last year's pain had still found a way to make it into the new year. It didn't stay behind as I had hoped. But I had been praying. I had been seriously seeking the Lord like never before. He was the healing balm to my wounded soul, and He was the only hope I had. Praise His sweet name that two weeks into the year, He turned the tables. He confronted me in a way I desperately needed. Challenged me as He never had before. Because for months, well, years really, He had been carrying me. He had been my strength, He had been my shield. He had been my hiding place. All the things He promised He would be, He was. But it was time. It was time for me to get off the entitlement train as if God really owed me anything in the first place. And He said, "Let's turn this ship around sister. You said you wanted things to change, so here we go. Buckle your seat belt! I'm going to help you, but you've got to work with me. And if you want this year to look different from the last, then you've got change your perspective. You want 2012 to be a good year? Then here's the deal, you need to look for the good. Search it out. Be intentional to see good in every day because it's there. Everything I give you is good. And if you truly believe that I am good, then why don't you look for me every day? Seek me in everything and you'll be certain you find good."
2012 was the best year of my life. It was the most incredible year I have ever experienced as God actively drew me out of the muck and mire, answering prayer after prayer, performing miracle after miracle. But here's the thing, we have to stick our arms up and call to Him. He sees us right where we are, but if we aren't willing to move, He isn't going to force us. We can pray all we want, asking Him to change our circumstances, but often times we're the ones He is waiting on. We say, "God, this hurts! Make it better," as we bind ourselves to the life sucking boulder at the bottom of our pit. And as much as we want to move forward, we don't. Because we're scared. Let's just admit that, okay? We don't like change, and even though we don't like our circumstances, we've become comfortable with them. We've learned how to cope, and changing them just seems to be too much right now. Plus, it's work. What we really want, without actually admitting it, is for God to just snap His fingers and let us wake up when things are good. Let us just pass through this fire untouched and get to the other side as quickly as possible. Yet God says, "No way, Jose! This fire isn't to hurt you. This fire is to refine you. You're going through it, but I'll see you to the other side." It may be hot, it may be uncomfortable, but your attitude is going to play an important role and you get to be the one who controls that.
Maybe 2016 was your worst year. Maybe you're ready for the promise of a new year. The unknown can be a great comfort, especially if it's filled with anticipation of great change. Or maybe 2016 was so good that you don't want it to end. But all things, good or bad, eventually come to and end. We move on, ready or not, because God does, too. He is a God who is always doing new things. A God who doesn't live in the past. A God who is actively working and moving and leading us forward. And so if your 2016 didn't go well, praise Him that He won't take you back there. That it's just one chapter in your book of life, and a new one is about to begin. Because pages will turn. New journeys are ahead. And if you're determined that this next year will be better, if you're looking for good, then look for God. In all things. Every day. Open your eyes to see His goodness. I promise you, He'll be there.
"Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I've formed for myself, that they may proclaim my praise." - Isaiah 43:18-21
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