There is something about a new year that has always been appealing to me. It’s like starting over, leaving all the stresses and strains of the last year behind and just starting fresh. I grew up in upstate New York, where our winters could be brutal: temperatures below zero, lots of snow and ice. While I liked winter, it could seem so long. With the arrival of spring, the temperatures began to rise, the grass turned green again, flowers bloomed and trees budded. There was this sense of freshness and new life as people spent more time outdoors working in the yard. Winter's cold, dreary days had passed; new life had sprung up. That is the way a new year can be. Listen to what God's words to us:
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18, NIV
Forgetting does not mean we don't remember the past, instead, God is saying do not dwell on the past. When we dwell on our mistakes and failures or what someone has done to us, we become prisoners to our past. Notice these words:
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7, AMP
You've probably heard the saying, "We are what we eat." Truth is, we're also what we think.
In the 1970's, Sam Shoeman was diagnosed with liver cancer and was told he only had a few months to live. A few months after his death, the autopsy revealed the doctors were wrong. He only had one small tumor still contained within the liver—not a life-threatening stage of cancer. Sam Shoeman died, not from liver cancer, but because he believed he was dying of liver cancer. Our beliefs change us mentally, physically, and spiritually. (The God Shaped Brain, pg. 11. Timothy Jennings, MD)
Imagine dying because someone said you were and you believed it. How we think impacts who we are.
Our lives are always moving in the direction of our thoughts. What we think shapes who we are.
Studies reveal that we are bombarded by about five hundred unintentional and intrusive thoughts a day. Each unwanted thought lasts about fourteen seconds. Do the math. That’s almost two hours a day of thoughts we do not want to think. Two hours of thought like, You aren’t good enough. You deserve better. You will always struggle with your weight. If they knew you, they wouldn’t like you. You will always be alone. If we don’t do something, those thoughts will poison our thinking. We really do need to win the war in our minds. (Winning the War in our Mind by Craig Groeshel, pgs 1 & 93)
Why not start the New Year by choosing to lean into God, choosing to focus on what God says about you, instead of your unhealthy self-talk or what others said about you? Allow God's about you ]to be the fountain from which your thoughts flow. Remember, words are powerful. Many who have lived in an abusive relationship will tell you they would rather suffer a physical beating than be beaten with words. Physical wounds can heal but, unaddressed, words have the power to stay with you forever.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21, NKJV
What God is saying to you will only give you life. So why not begin the new year by going on a journey through the Bible and SEEing, MEDITATing, ACCEPTing, and RESTing in what God is saying to you?
Here are a few tips for the journey.
Ask God to open your eyes to see yourself as he sees you.
Practice thought audits: "What kind of self-talk do I have daily? Are there thoughts from my past or present that impact my life? How do I see God, myself, and others?"
Center your thoughts in God’s word: When my thought audit reveals a destructive pattern, replace it with the word of God. This will require some effort but it will be worth it.
Exercise your new thought pattern, the more you exercise, the stronger you become. Express your new thought pattern: Say to yourself: I am a forgiven child of God, I am a new creation in Christ, etc.
Remember, your thoughts make up who you are and the words you speak shape your reality. So, allow your reality to be shaped by the word of God.
Learn to live in the rhythm of resting in God and His promises to you
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV
Here is God’s promise for this new year:
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. (God is inviting you to leave it behind.)
See, I am doing a new thing! (He is offering you a new way of thinking about Him, yourself, and others.)
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? (Make a choice, once you do, it starts now.)
I am making a w