New Beginnings

I have to confess, I'm one of those. I resolve at the beginning of most new years, that "this time" things are gonna be different. Less junk food, more time on the bike; less spending, more saving, less time in front of the boob tube (that's what Daddy called it), more time in the Word or with family or working on a stress-relieving hobby ... My guess is that you know the resolution routine as well. Some of us have made headway before, but rarely do any of us make it past the first weeks, much less the first months. And, everything 'new' becomes old again.

I was reminded this week that in the face of all the things we want to be different or are afraid will be different, there is one bankable truth we would do well to remember: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). No matter what will be new in my life or for how long, Jesus is the always ... He is always my friend, always my brother, always leading toward his best, always patient when I meander, always loving, always challenging. I can depend on Jesus to be the same strength, the same peace, the same courage, the same Life-giver as always, regardless of what is shifting in my life.

You know, God offers Job an answer that is helpful for us to hear. While I think I've got a pretty good handle on things, it's really God who's got it under control. In the face of Job's increased whining and lack of understanding though he is faithful, God reminds Job of just how capable He really is. (Check out Job 38 and 39.) For instance, who takes care of the desert with nobody in it? God does. Who's responsible for sending the lightning bolts on their way? God is. Who sees the fawn born when no one else is around but Mom Doe and who delights in the wonder and beauty (yes, beauty!) of, say, the ostrich? God, that's Who! If God gives a whit about the uninhabited desert, the here-and-gone lightning bolts, fawns born under the protection of forest depth and creatures like the ostrich who, on a good day, are a little goofy, God gives more than a whit about you, about me! Oh, by the way, God does give a whit about all those things and more ... He is the creator of it all, of course God cares about His!

God cares that you want to see changes in your life. More than that, God longs to be the Power in your life that will enable those changes. Paul wrote in his letter to the Christians at Corinth that Jesus is God's "YES!" to all the promises God's ever made. Jesus is your "YES!" And, mine, too. Tomorrow may be a new beginning, but I'm sure glad to have the same, steady companion on the journey with me. The One who makes all things possible, the One who never changes, but makes it possible for me to change every day! He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! You can bank on it.