I remember my father in law, Walter Block, sharing a number of years ago, how as a young boy he would head off across the white field of freshly fallen snow towards the old school house with determination to walk as straight a line as he could! After he had walked a while, he would turn around to look back at the track he had left in the previously unmarked snow and discovered just how crooked his tracks really were!
Walter shared that he often felt the same way when he looked back over the previous year, and no matter how determined he was to “walk” differently, he was disappointed with the times he had stumbled about. I don’t know if you know my father-in-law, but I can tell you he is an incredible man of God who I admire a great deal. He does walk a path that I would not be ashamed to follow, as anyone who knows him, knows his love of the Lord and his desire to please him.
I have often thought of that story and thought how true in my own life. We are quickly approaching a new year and that of course brings New Year’s resolutions, promises, and sometimes, just plain good intentions however usually within a few weeks (or sometimes days) I find I have already veered off course. It can be discouraging if we forget that the One who watches us stumble and fall is always there is pick us up.
Isaiah 43:19 says, “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland”.
No matter what you have done, God is always there ready to forgive us and take us from where we are. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. Sounds like a completely new beginning to me!
I am praying that God will do a new work in my life. He will make our paths straight. I am so thankful that God is a God of new beginnings, fresh starts, and more love than you and I can ever imagine. If you are wondering what 2020 will hold for you, I can assure you, if you place your life in the One who loves you most He will walk every step of the way with you.
