Forget January 1st. For the Christian, every day, every moment is a brand new start.
It’s a new start that’s the opposite of all the others. Not, ‘I must change if I want to be loved’. Turn it around. ‘I am already loved. The new is now.’
It’s not that you don’t feel scared. Or sad. Or angry or lonely or anxious. You can still feel these things and more; but God in you is greater. And here’s something wonderful: when you act in spite of those fears, you’re braver and happier and more whole than the person who never felt them.
If I am no longer afraid, what would be possible? If I am utterly secure, how can I live .. tomorrow, this moment? If my energy doesn’t go into keeping life safe, then where else can I pour it? If I don’t need to bless myself, how can I bless others? My family and colleagues? The guy at the checkout; or the passengers on the commute? Poured out, poured out, poured out. Then filled afresh; and spilling over.
It starts – right now. 3.34 on a Tuesday; 12.01 on a Sunday night. On your own; or surrounded by people. Changing the litter tray or interviewing for the new job.
You don’t have to be doing well to try it… or at rock bottom, if you want to start afresh. Wherever we are, it’s time. He is here – Christ in us. We have all that we need; we have already begun.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Image source
“…If I am no longer afraid, what would be possible? If I am utterly secure, how can I live .. ”
Good questions. How often have my choices come out of simply not knowing my place, not knowing or maybe not believing my position in Him. Like a dinner guest who refuses a seat at the table but would instead eat from the garbage can, my survival strategies have been so foolish sometimes.
We do have all we need. Our victory is IN HIM.