A new calendar year often brings a fresh perspective with promises of a clean slate. We remember the past year and take inventory of successes and failures. We also look ahead with hope and anticipation of what will be. New Year’s resolutions abound. We vow many things: to live in the moment, eat right, exercise more, learn to say “no,” go back to school, quit smoking, bring back date night, write a book, travel more, finally start your own business and so on.
In the book of Romans, Paul compares us to clay and God to a potter. Perhaps this is where our successes and failures meet – in God’s hands. God takes the many and varied experiences of our lives and uses them – the bitter and the sweet – to mold us, shape us, renew us and transform us. In God’s hands, we are works of art still under construction.
Sometimes the promises we make to ourselves, our New Year’s resolutions, fall flat. But we do not solely rely on our will power, faithfulness, or intellect. Ultimately our hope rests with our God who always keeps promises.
This message is excerpted from “Risky Transformation” by Angela T. Khabeb in the December 2020 Café online magazine. Today we commemorate the Name of Jesus. Today is New Year’s Day.
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