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THE NEW YEAR
I have selected a verse of scripture for this article which I feel gives us an ideal way to approach this New Year and every day of it. The verse is Psalm 118:24: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” The psalmist is saying that when we let every day be a God-given day, it will be a God-governed day, and will become a God-gladdened day. This verse gives us five things to do to approach the New Year properly.
- See each day as a gift of God. “This is the day the Lord has made.” I’m certain most if not all of us have heard the saying, “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a GIFT. That’s why it’s called the present.” Today is a gift from God. You have a day that God has made. Every day God gives you enough time to work, laugh, learn, love and for leisure. All of us have the same amount of time each day—24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,000 seconds. Make no mistake; life is a gift from God! It is neither a right… nor an entitlement.
- Learn to live in the present tense. “This is the day.” There are two days that we should all refuse to live in. One is yesterday and the other is tomorrow. It has been said, “We crucify ourselves between two thieves, regret for yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.” Thousands of books are written and published each year. Many of them are self-help books. Multi-million dollar companies have been built on the promise of revealing the “secrets of success.” One of the rules that appear in virtually every course and book on the subject of self-improvement is: “Live in day-tight compartments.” It has been said in different ways, but the meaning is the same. Jesus said it this way: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34) One of the glories and blessings of life is that we live one day at a time. Don’t live in the future of your imagination, or in the past in memory, but in the glorious present.
- Prioritize the day. “This is the day.” Prioritize your “to do” list. Put the most important things first. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Do you love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” Paul advises us to “redeem the time.” (Ephesians 3:16) You may not get everything done, but by prioritizing your list you will complete the most important tasks. This is so true for me and perhaps for you too
- Stop procrastinating. Time is passing. Time cannot be stopped. You can put money in the bank, but not time. Time can be called in a ballgame, but not in life. You use time or lose it forever. One man said, “One of the most dangerous days in a man’s life is when he discovers the word tomorrow.” It is one of the greatest labor-saving devices in the world. Another rule in almost any self-help book is: “Do it now!” The Bible says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2) There is always urgency in the Bible. The Bible is a right now book, a today book.
- Choose to enjoy today. “Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Paul said, even while in chains. “Rejoice always, again I say rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4) Basic to Christianity is the joy to be a result from it. Jesus said He wants our “joy to be full.” If anyone in this world has anything to rejoice about, it is the Christian! Joy is a spiritual virtue. Paul wrote, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” (Galatians 5:22) Joy is a natural result, or fruit, of the life surrendered to the Lord. Life doesn’t give me joy unless I really will it; it just gives me time and space, and it is up to me to fill it. Rejoice!
We would all do well to make our motto for this coming year the words of Paul: “So we make it our goal to please Him (God).” (2 Corinthians 5:9)
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