Thoughts on the New Year
As a new year begins and our minds turn to the annual subject of New Year’s resolutions, a question comes to my mind: are you a goal setter or a goal regretter?
For many of us, thoughts of the New Year bring great expectations of exciting opportunities: mountains to climb and goals to achieve. Whether our goals are personal or professional, spiritual or physical, financial or relational, we anticipate our success by filling our calendars with the breakdowns for successful outcomes by year’s end. It is an exciting time to be alive! Maybe you will run the New York City Marathon in November or take that trip to Paris! Keeping your Duolingo streak running until next new year? That one’s in the bag!
Others of us tend to focus more on a different set of breakdowns or the ways that we have failed to achieve past resolutions from last year, or even from yesterday. Every year we tell ourselves that this year will be different. We can and will devote ourselves to a resistance training program because we have done the research and know how good it is for our health and well-being. As my friend told me just this weekend, all you have to do is set your Apple Watch each day. Every day brings you past mental resolve and closer to an actual physical habit. Hmmm. But I’m sitting here, reading my book! I’ll do it tomorrow.
Whichever group you relate to best, there is good news for us to consider from Scripture. No matter where you would place yourself on any productivity scale, there’s something we can all do. There’s no equipment required, no advanced degree, or any other measure of commercial or professional success needed at all.
All we have to do is look up.
King David explains it all so clearly in Psalm 5.
“Give ear to my words, O LORD;
consider my groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you
and watch.”
Psalm 5:1-3
We can talk to the Lord. We can groan and cry if we need to. Like David, we can ask God to pay attention to us as we pray. To some people, that may sound a little presumptuous. Here we must remember that David is one king speaking to the One King as a son, an honor that we share with him as believers. God can handle all of the extremes of emotion that we may feel. And the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, comes alongside our groanings and groans with us in our prayers.
Isn’t that amazing? God doesn’t want us to sit in our overbooked, overcrowded schedules or in our other failed states of disarray and disaster. He wants us to look to Him, or watch, as we see in verse 3, and ask Him to come to our rescue.
He wants us to look up, to watch and see how He will deliver us and protect us. Again, it is amazing to see that He is there to engage with us closely and intimately, not from a haughty distance. He draws near and pays attention, and He wants us to do the same.
As the psalm progresses, David goes on to say that evildoers and boastful and deceitful men will be judged, that God does not delight in wickedness (v. 4-6, 9-10). He has confidence in God’s actions and His character. He can be trusted. We can remember these truths, too.
David ends with a prayer.
“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.”
Psalm 5:11-12
He is mighty to save and able to use us, both in our weaknesses and in spite of our weaknesses. Even more, He blesses us and covers us with favor, not for anything that we can do, but because we love His name!
When we watch and look up as we make daily plans for 2026, rejoice and sing for joy, dear friends. God cares about how we order our days, and He is always ready to help and guide us, whether we are goal setters or regrettors. So go to Him tomorrow morning, and every morning, and talk to Him. He wants to hear your voice.