What do you want for the New Year?

This past Christmas I read a message in which the writer said all he wanted for Christmas was a gift of wonder… “that invites us to 'Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices.'”(1)  It got me to thinking, “What do I want for the New Year?”  What about you?  What do you want for the New Year?

Sometimes when I see an image or a word of scripture that strikes a chord deep in my heart, I utter a prayer of thanksgiving for what God has done, is doing or is able to do. Time passes.  I see the image or word again or circumstances arise that seem to contradict what I am hoping for…  Tears well up in my eyes.  “What is it, Lord? Why am I crying?” I ask. Is it a feeling of loss or unfulfillment because what I long for hasn’t manifested?  Is it distrust in myself, not sure what I “heard” was from God?  Is it bitterness because I think God is withholding His promise from me?  It may be one or all of these things, but at the root is unbelief.   Unbelief dredges up old feelings of loss, hurt, disappointment, thoughts of “history repeating itself,” ad nauseum.   

Dr. Mark Chironna  once said, “God invites you to go on a journey with him.  ‘If you are going to walk with me, you need to agree with me.   I need you to believe I am always up to something good.’ ”(2)  Without belief in the goodness of God at the core of my being, I am not likely to move on to faith and it is faith that pleases God (Heb. 11:6).   God was pleased when SoIomon asked for wisdom to govern the people of Israel and that Solomon did not ask anything for himself (1 Kings 3:7-12).  If I truly trusted God and believed in His goodness, then I’d have to come to the conclusion that I am asking the wrong question.  Instead of what I want, the question becomes, “Lord, what do you want for the New Year?”

(1) Pastor Bob Sanders, Lake Grove Presbyterian Church, December 24, 2011.
(2) Sunday Service, TMTIC, May 22, 2011.