It is 2014 and I am happy to be alive
to see another year (because, well let’s be honest, the alternative would be
not so great)! In light of the new year, I am not going to use any of the usual
trite, ridiculously over used and over meme-d
(that’s those pictures with the words that all your friends post on
social networks) sayings like “new year, new me” or ask “what’s you
resolution?” But, what would a new year be without reflection, introspection, thanksgiving
for past blessings, and thoughts of the future?
Upon reflecting on what this season
means, my initial though was WHY? Why do people celebrate the New Year? Where
did this come from?
I found that celebration of the New
Year has its roots in ancient government, Christianity, and culture, with
traditions dating back to about 2000 BC. Around that time it was celebrated on
different dates based on the calendar used by the particular culture. Many chose
dates in mid-March 1 based on the beginning of spring. Celebrating on January 1
began around 153 BC. This was the date that Roman officials took their posts (a
tradition that pretty much continues today in American government), and in 46
BC Julius Caesar declared January 1 the official beginning of the year and a
time to honor the Roman deity, Janus, after whom January is named. There was a
slight departure from this in Medieval times, but there was a resurgence in honor
of the adoption for the Gregorian calendar (the calendar we currently use) and
the Feast of Circumcision (the day which baby Jesus was circumcised), which was
honored because it was the first time that blood was shed, by the man by whose
blood God would cleanse all sins. Nearly all New Year’s traditions include
elements of partying, feasting and ritualistic elements honoring elders,
spirits, deceased family members, and/or deities.
Ok, you may be wondering how any of
this relates to your life? More
importantly, what does God have to say about it and how does this relate to
your walk with Him?
When I started thinking further about
New Year’s and reasons why people celebrate it, I came to a simple conclusion: IT
IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD. This is not to say that celebrating the New Year is a
stupid tradition or that it’s not “real,” but it is all in your head.
Celebration of the New Year stems from our thoughts—thoughts of hope,
which God put into all of his creations. We are inherently hopeful and because
of that hope, we believe in what newness (a New Year) may bring. This is why we
celebrate.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the
plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for
evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Hope is always mentioned in terms
of the future, because it is basically anticipation or expectation. My sister’s
dog, Kobe, is the most hopeful creature that I’ve ever seen. Despite the fact
that he is rarely given human food (especially by me), whenever I eat at my
parents house he sits patiently in front of me, seemingly with the thought in
his head: “today is going to be the day, and this food Is going to be amazing!”
He watches the smallest of hand gestures in anticipation of what my meal may
bring to him. Like Kobe, our hope lies in the thought or the expectation that
we will encounter something new that will be better than what we’ve had or
experienced in the past. In the past, Kobe has been given a whole lot of
nothing; maybe a bone or scarp here or there. Yet he clings to his hope. Hope is
something that God wants for us. Jeremiah 29:11 said that God wants to give us
hope.
The thing about hope is that it is hinged
upon OUR thinking. That is why it is important that in this New Year, we seek
God so that he may renew our minds so that we may continue to be hopeful not
only at the beginning of the year, but throughout. Hope and positivity go hand
in hand. On our own, it is hard to continue to be hopeful that good will come when we
are weighed down by circumstances and faced with situations that seem hopelessly
dim. But God renews us when we need it most, refreshing our minds, pushing
failures and hurts into the back of our minds and restoring hope into its
rightful place at the forefront. Romans 12:2-3 says, “Don’t copy the behavior
and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by
changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you,
which is good and pleasing and perfect…Don’t think you are better than you
really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by
the faith God has given us.”
 |
| “But let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” Romans 12:2 |
READ ROMANS 12
God
wants to transform you into the person that he wants you to be this year, but
in order to do so you have to allow Him
to change your thinking.
I remember, not long ago, I did the whole “college experience.” I went to parties
and of course drank. But after a while, some years of drinking quite a few
nights every week, I started to drink more when I went out and then it got to
the point where every time I drank alcohol I would get really uncontrollably
sick. I remember doing this often. Drinking and then throwing up for hours
throughout the night/morning. Me being hard-headed, I would try different
things on different nights to see if maybe I was just drinking something that
did not agree with me. I started telling my friends that maybe I was allergic
to vodka so I would try tequila tonight, or maybe I was allergic to both of
those so I would try just wine the next time (haha!) and I kind of started believing
that it was really just an allergy. I started getting a little sad thinking, what
would I do when I went out with my friends now if I couldn’t drink?! I would be
bored, boring and not fun! Then one day I went out and drank only a few glasses
of wine, nothing that I would think would have ever made me sick in the past,
yet again I was in the bathroom all night basically throwing up really bad.
That’s when I realized that this was
sign. God was trying to take me out of a place where I didn’t need to be. A
place that was hopeless and negative, where I did tonssss of stupid things all in
the name of “having fun.” He renewed my mind, causing to see that I didn’t need
to drink to have fun because there are other fun things out there! And that I didn’t
need to conform to the ways of the world by partying in order to have or to keep friends, and that if they expected me to do
so I didn’t need them anyways. He showed me that I wouldn’t have much hope for
a future if I kept down the road I was headed!
The thing that I want to impress upon
you for the first post of the year is that God wants to renew your mind. He
wants to take away the hurt, sorrow, and the burdens. He wants to restore you
to a place abounding in hope. At the start of this year do as Romans 12:3
suggests and take an honest evaluation of yourself. Not of the way you look,
how well you are manicured or dressed, but evaluate the things that matter—your
heart, soul, intent, expectations, and your relationship with God. For me, this means fully confronting my desire to control those around me and get what I want in 2014, and trading my self interests for the interests of others and for the things of God. 
Jael
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