Mile markers on the side of the road are a reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we have to go. Our mindset when seeing a marker can depend on how anxious we are to get away from where we came from to how anxious we are to get to our destination. Each new year alerts us to reevaluate where we’re going and how are we going to get there.
I believe the Lord wants us to prepare for this year with expectation for greater things. The Scriptures remind us to “redeem the time.” The Greek dictionary tell us that redeem means to make wise and sacred use of. There are very few things more valuable or holy than the gift of time. Anyone who accomplishes anything realizes that time cannot be wasted. Even in Revelation 12:12, the Apostle John writes that the devil does everything with a vengeance because he knows his time is short. Since evil knows that time cannot be wasted if goals are to be met, how much more should we maximize the use of the gift of a new year to think of bigger and better things than can be done for the Lord.
The Scripture I’m embracing for 2020 is “Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your pegs. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left. And your descendants will possess nations, And they will resettle the desolate cities (Isaiah 54:2-3). Let’s never stop dreaming about what we can accomplish. The Scripture reminds us to never slip into a dull place where we don’t visualize expanding to a greater purpose and opportunity. There’s a lot of talk about a carbon footprint. I would challenge all of us to think about the size of our faith footprint. Does our faith believe for greater and more expansive things? Are we believing that a new year provides new opportunities to accomplish things we’ve never accomplished before? That’s my prayer for this new year. Lord, bring increase into our vision, purpose and plans. Increase my faith as I desire to believe for greater things. I’m excited for 2020 because with God, all things are possible.