Benjamin Franklin said, “In a new year declare war on you spiritual and personal vices (not on others), decide to live in peace with your neighbors, those close to you, and yourself (not in constant conflict), be forgiving and understanding toward others (and not harbor, hold grudges and continue to be consumed by them), and make conscious decision that (you, not others) will be a better person this year”, and the better you are just might make others better.
The New Year is the beginning in some ways of an open book, a new chapter with blank pages. It’s an opportunity to fill the blank pages with fresh ideas, new opportunities, and new inspirations, and new attitudes.
Jeremiah proclaimed that the mercies of God are new (the concept of that is that they are fresh, they are renewed chances) each day. In this New Year, can you reach for God’s new mercies? You can smell the freshness of God faithfulness toward you in this New Year if you focus on the new scent. Can you get away from that aroma of staleness and the stench of the odor of last years miseries? It’s hard to walk in the new and fresh mercies of God, if you just keep reaching back at the staleness, stagnation, and the stumbling and the stupidity of the old year.
You have a choice of what is written on the blank pages of your life in this New Year. You can fill the pages by verbalizing and rehashing the mistakes, the misgivings, and the misunderstanding of last year. You can live your life in reverse or stuck in neutral, or you can find the driving gear and move forward in faith, hope, prayer, and with the right spirit in the Holy Spirit. You can live your life in the past moments of the old year by focusing on the frustrations, the failures, the fears, and even the factions. And all of those emotions are real and I am sure were difficult.
You can live this year placing the blame and rationalizing actions (whether ignorant or indifferent) and attitudes of others and yourself, and remain tied to the moment of the past. Or as one writer says, “or you can drop the old year into silent limbo of the past, let it go, and own it for what it was and is, and choose not to be defined by it, but to be driven by something more positive.
In other words you can begin the New Year focusing on your pain and problems, and your struggles and stretching of last year. Or you can began the new year majoring on the negatives and the naysayers’, you can began the New Year by lifting up what should have happened and did not happen. Or what did happen that could have been prevented.
Or you can rise above it, with the God that is in you that can transforms those negative moments into a positive action and attitude from you. Rise above knowing that the only person that you have control of is you. The only power you have control is your will power. The only attitude that you can empower is your own.
You have a choice of beginning in pity or praise, with a head raised in hope, or bowed in defeat, of being a fatalist or a faith filled person. You have the choice of the spirit of defeat ruling or the spirit of faith ruling. Know this, the New Year may have similar or same situations, but you decide that I am not going to allow the worst of me to be seen.
That is exactly what Job did, that is precisely the attitude and the disposition that Job took. It’s an amazing statement that falls from the lips of Job in the text today, as he has experienced a rough season in life.
Talking about a person whose year had been difficult, that is mildly stating the case. Job had had a hurting, humiliating, horrendous, horrifying, and hellish experience. His life had been totally interrupted with the severest trials. He had been to the pit of pain and pity, the bottom of life had fallen out (actually the bottom of the bottom of his life had fallen) in ways that were unbelievable. He had experienced the deepest lows and the severest blows that could happen.
The unthinkable had happened, the unexpected had invaded his life, his peace and his position in life had suddenly and slowly unraveled before his eyes. Job lost everything, everything that had defined him, everything that had brought him happiness, everything that gave him a sense of self worth and stability were gone. Read chapters 1 and 2 (not while I am preaching).
> His Possessions! His Property! His Family! His Health! His Credibility (his friends)! His Image! His Respect from his Wife!
He has been wiped out by a series of mishaps, and the unexpected. And he did not do anything!!!!! And you’re talking about somebody who could have just anchored himself to the pole of pity, you’re talking about someone who could have just chronicled and catalog a litany of pain and negativity, and verbal frustrations, and anger at its highest level, Job could have done that. But he does not! Actually he teaches us something today if we want to learn and listen. I pray that the old year has not bent you to the point that you can not hear God and see in scriptures an alternative that is more positive.
It actually blows my mind that Job would say this after all he has been through. It literally makes me want to shout when I read the words in contrast of what has happened to him. I am asking God to give me that sense of Praise in the backdrop of life’s predicaments.
(Read the text in three translations KJV, NIV, ESV....)
Job declares in this verse his reasons to Praise!
I. Thou Hast Granted Me Life: (I am still here)!
In the movie the Color Purple, Danny Glover played the role of Albert Johnson, but was only called and known to Celie (played by Whoopi Goldberg) as Mister. She had been forced to marry him at a young age after having been abused by her father. He treated her with contempt at its worst and robbed her of her sense of self worth. It was only after the visit of Shug Avery who lived a rather glamorous life having left that rural area and gone to the big city that changed Celie. Celie became inspired and strong by being around Shug Avery, and she found enough nerves and will power to leave Mister. As she was about to leave him, he made his final demeaning remark about her to her: he had demeaned her for years and took his last shot at demeaning. He said, “where you going? You’re poor, you’re black, you’re ugly, and you’re woman! You are nothing at all!” Shug said Celie get in the car. As the car is pulling away, she said: I am poor, black, I maybe ugly, but dear God: I am still here!”
Job said: with what I have been through... I have been given Life! You can decide that this life can be. Job was saying, “I am still here!”
> A chance to do something great for God!
> A chance to do something different for the Kingdom!
> A chance to live out my faith for God!
> A chance to serve Him better!
Notice I said it’s a chance to do for Him!
If you seek the Kingdom of God first! Placing Him where He should be will result in Him placing you where you want to be!
II. And Favor (Loving-kindness): Grace (is favor)
I have to praise Him for favor! Favor is what He has done that He did not have to do!
Favor is when He just did not give me a cone that empty! But He supplied me with extra scoops of mercies, extra scoops of forgiveness extra scoops of His love.
Favor is when God just pours out blessings that you just did not see coming!
Favor is when He stops something that should have happened but did not happen!
Favor is when He keeps that that did happen to not being as destructive as it could have been.
Favor is when God makes a way that you knew that this had to be a God move.
King David in 2 Samuel 9:1 (Any one left of Jonathan house).
> Undeserving! Unmerited! Unusual! Unconditional!
III. And the Visitation of thy Spirit as kept me: (You watched over me)!
I praise Him that God is always watching! His eye is continuously upon me and you!
That was His word to Moses: tell Israel I have heard their cries and seen their afflictions!
He is a God who watches!
When disciples were in the storm, He was watching!!!
When the Hebrew were in the furnace!
When Daniel was in the Den!
When Israel were in the wilderness!!!
I trust that He is watching!!! Every now and then, when He sees you tired and about to give up, He visits!
He stops by to lifts us!
He stops by to strengthen us!
He stops by to sit with us!
He stops by to heal our scars!
He stops by to mend us!
He knows our ups, and downs!
He knows our weaknesses and worries!
I praise Him for watching! I praise Him for favor!
I praise Him for life!
His eye is on the sparrow!! I know he watches over me!
