New Year’s Day
Psalm 90:1-4
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
Suppose you had the chance to unsay something you’ve said, or to undo something you’ve done. Would you if you could?
Every one of us has had more than our share of regrets—the people we’ve hurt, the words we should never have spoken, the job that got away.
Mike Morrison, a graduate student in psychology at the University of Illinois, once said: “Regrets help illuminate mistakes we’ve made and allow us to learn from them.” And he said: “The sting of regret can motivate us to make positive changes in our lives.”
What do we regret the most? Most people, especially women, put relationships at the top of their list. Just think of all the sad love songs—the one that got away, the one who broke your heart.
Maybe you wish you had studied harder in school, or stayed in school, or chosen a different career. Or maybe it’s your finances. Do you wish you had borrowed less and saved more?
Our lives are full of regrets.
So it’s good that we’ve come together on this New Year’s Day, not only to look back on the year now past, but also to look ahead to all that is to come.
In an article entitled, “Dear world, I wasn’t all bad. Signed, 2016,” the author writes: “I know, I know. You’re SO over me. You lost a favorite celebrity. Your Samsung Galaxy exploded. You got really tired of Pokemon Go really fast. But look closer. I was also all kinds of awesome—in ways that left you a better place.
“There’s finally peace in Colombia. Lebanon picked a leader after forty-five tries. The high school graduation rate is at its highest, and Americans gave to charity more than ever before. Researchers found new genes that may help cure ALS, (thanks to the ice bucket challenge). China bred good mosquitoes to fight the bad ones, and West Africa is ebola-free.”
And he wrote, “After five years, Juno finally made it to Jupiter. Before, there were only 126 kakapo parrots left in the world; now there are 154!”
And let’s not forget, the Cubs finally won the World Series!
In many ways, it’s been a hard year, but it’s been a good year too.
Now we stand at the doorway of a new year. As someone put it: “I am the new year. I am an unspoiled page in your book of time. I am your next chance at the art of living. I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned during the last twelve months about life.
“All that you sought the past year and failed to find is hidden in me; I am waiting for you to search it out again and with more determination. All the good that you tried to do for others and didn’t achieve last year is mine to grant—providing you have fewer selfish and conflicting desires.
“In me lies the potential of all that you dreamed, but didn’t dare to do, all that you hoped, but didn’t perform, all that you prayed for, but did not yet experience. These dreams slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened by the touch of an enduring purpose.
“I am the new year.”
If you would, please turn with me in your Bible to page 630, as I read the words of Psalm 90. I’ll start at verse 1: “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God. You return man to dust and say, ‘Return, O children of man!’ For a thousand years in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.”
Then at verse 12: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on Your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”
And verse 17: “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!”
What do these words tell us? They tell us that no matter who we are, no matter what we’ve done, no matter what lies in our past, present or future, our God will see us through.
Back in the fifteenth century, as man made its first attempts to draft world maps, they coarsely and crudely outlined the shores of Europe and Africa. They did the best they could with what little knowledge they had.
And when they came to the Atlantic Ocean, where no ship or sailor had ever gone before, they wrote the words: “Here be dragons. Here be demons. Here be death.”
And that, in a way, is how we look at the year before us. What is ahead? We don’t know. We can’t know. Only God knows.
But if you could, look at it like this…
Take all the suffering of this life—all the pain, all the heartache, all the rejection, all the misunderstanding, all the evil we encounter, all the hatred directed at us, all the malice we endure, all the sadness, all the tears, all the sleepless nights, all the fear, all the doubt, all the worry, all the confusion, all the perplexity, all the sickness, all the broken dreams…
Then, add it all up, total it to whatever fantastic sum it may come to be…
Then add to that the sadness of every funeral you’ve attended for the death of someone you loved, think about all that death has taken from you, make that sum as large as you can, then place it on one side of the ledger.
Now place on the other side these things…
The Word of God, the promises of God, the love of God, the power of God, the plan of God, the wisdom of God, the kindness of God, the sovereignty of God, and the grace of God.
Then add to that the death of the Son of God with its infinite transforming power for all who believe, and the resurrection of the Son of God who came forth from the grave undefeated, alive from the dead, holding the keys of death and hell in His hand, who now lives and reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords.
And if that’s not enough, then add to it the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the down payment on all the promises God has made and the guarantee of our salvation.
Now when you’ve gathered it all together, put that sum on the other side of the ledger.
Now tell me--which is greater? Your fears and sorrows, your lost hopes and dreams, OR the vast and immeasurable promises of God, made in His Word, guaranteed by His Spirit, and purchased for you in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord?
If you can’t quite do the figuring, then let the apostle Paul do it for you. Listen to what he said in II Corinthians chapter 4: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
One Saturday afternoon, a father was watching television, when his young son came running over. “Daddy, can you play with me?” he asked.
The father was willing to give him plenty of time, but not just yet. “Son,” said his father. “When the show’s over.”
Five minutes later, the boy was back. “Can we play now?” he asked.
“Soon,” his father said. “Just as soon as its over.”
Two minutes, he was back. “Is it time to play yet?” he asked.
The father knew he wasn’t going to get any peace, so he decided to give his son something to do that would take some time. He saw a picture of the world on the front page of the newspaper lying in front of him, so he tore out the picture, then ripped it into little pieces.
Then he said, “I’ve got a game for you. I want you to take the pieces of this picture of the world and put them back together again. Then we’ll play together.”
So the boy took those pieces and got to work, as the dad leaned back in his chair to watch the last half hour of his show.
Five minutes later, the boy said, “I’ve finished daddy. Now can we play!”
The father was stunned to see his son holding up the picture of the world, each piece taped into just the right position.
“How’d you get it done so quickly?” he asked, amazed. “That would have taken me twenty minutes, and I’m a dad!”
“It was easy,” he answered. “On the back of the world was a picture of a man, so I put the man together, and that’s when the world came together.”
How do you hold the world together?
There’s only One who’s good enough and strong enough—and that’s our Savior Jesus. And with His rich grace and blessing, together we begin a new year.
Dear Jesus, abide with us throughout this new year. In spite of the many changes this world brings, grant us an unwavering faith in You as our Savior that we may live safely and securely in Your grace. This we ask in Your name. Amen