As the New Year approaches scores of people become reflective. They also begin to hope to reinvent their selves and obtain new goals. Obviously, using January 1 as their launch date to their new selves and different paths than the ones they have been on. They want change, but until they set their priorities in order, it is not going to happen. Unless they focus whole-heartedly on God, they will never live to their full potential. How can people reinvent their selves when they do not know who they really are to begin with? If they manage to reinvent their selves, will they like who they become? Will they be content? If they change directions, will they be pleased with their destination? What does new and different mean to you?
Your worship will determine what type of future you will have. In other words, if you whole-heartedly worship God, your future is already bright. Everyone has to decide whom or what he or she will worship. They have to decide who is God and who is not. You have to seriously consider Who God is before you make any headway. If you make it about you, you might as well plan to be in the same position year after year. You will not change because you cannot change yourself. You might change jobs; dress differently; get a better education; move to a new location and so on. You might actually ābetter yourself;ā but at the core, who gets the glory for it? In some instances, ābetterā just reinforces self-worship. Accomplishments become idols. No matter how much others may congratulate you, it will never be enough. Until God is your God, you will never be content, nor will you know true peace and joy. When people worship creation, which includes their selves, darkness fills their heart (see Romans 1:18-25). They become the very opposite of what they hoped. Obviously, their eternal destination will be very different from what they imagined.
A major reason people do not fulfill their true calling is they do not know who they are in Christ Jesus. They do not know their identity and do not feel worthy of the calling. Unworthiness is a stumblingblock for people to overcome in order to fulfill their destiny. Therefore, to feel worthy, you have to know Who is worthy. When you stay centered on Jesus Christ, as being the One Who is worthy, you will finally believe you are as well. Why? Because you will realize that in Christ Jesus, His righteousness is your righteousness (see 2Corinthians 5:21). Since we are saved by grace through faith alone, we cannot go about establishing our own righteousness (see Romans 10:1-4; Ephesians 2:8-10). Otherwise, we vacate grace and enter back into dead works (see Galatians 3:1-5:6). We cannot make ourselves better; He does that (see Philippians 1:6). It takes all the work out of it, which means we can be free to be who we truly are. As well-loved children, we can enjoy the relationship with our Daddy (Abba, Father). We can now do things for Him by doing things with Him. Instead of serving ourselves and being miserable human beings, we serve Him by serving others well and find great joy. It begins and ends with Jesus, as He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (see Hebrews 12:1-2).
Embracing the perfect will of God as our own is a step in the right direction for our life. The starting point is surrendering to Him. Sometimes, we think we know what Godās will is for our lives and pursue it, only find it was ours all along. Our desires can override clarity if we are not willing to receive what God has in mind. Even if we desire the right things, the way we obtain them must align with His will. In other words, we cannot choose our path and hope to arrive at the correct destination. Neither can we decide when we are supposed to obtain our vision and hope to steward it well. Direction and timing has to remain in the Lordās hand for things to come out right. It is a good idea to neither rush nor try to procrastinate our destiny.
It is important to be content wherever you may find yourself. That does not mean complacency; it means squeezing everything out of where you are in the moment. God is doing something where we are now and it prepares us for our future. He is ever present, unchanging, unwavering and in our future at the same time. He holds the ending from the beginning, and He wants us to trust Him with our future now. If you will not enjoy the present, how do you know you will enjoy the future? If you do not love or like yourself now, how do you know if you will in the future? Granted, our present circumstance can be difficult; nevertheless, joy, peace and contentment are available in the Holy Spirit through Christ Who gives us strength (see Romans 14:17; Galatians 5:22-23; Philippians 4:13).
Part of becoming āthe new youā is realizing that you are new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (KJV). Secondly, being honest with God about where you are will break down the barriers to being who your are supposed to be. You cannot pretend something that should not be in your life does not exist, when it does. You cannot simply ignore something and hope it will go away. If you get real with God, He will be real in your life. When we confess to Him what is there, we free God up to cleanse us (see 1John 1:9). Not only that, He empowers us to change the way we think in order to stay free. You have to change your mind about your self in order to be free to be who you are supposed be. Then, you will also be free to do what you are called to do. And we find that freedom in Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, be the new you and you will see new things happen in your life.
