New Year Off to a Rough Start?

Does this scenario sound familiar? The cozy, chaotic, Christmas season wraps up and you find yourself staring down the barrel of a new year. You used to look toward January as a fresh slate full of hope and progress, but time and experience has jaded you to some degree, and now you look forward with trepidation.

What’s going to happen this year? Last year brought challenges you weren’t sure you’d make it through, and you’re quite sure you don’t have the energy or stamina to do it again.

You look around and see the fresh enthusiasm of others, buying their planners, making their goals, and posting about it all over social media. Maybe you should try that. After all, they seem so…motivated.

But you’ve tried setting goals for the new year before. Many times. And it has never ended well. The unpredictability of life always seems to interrupt even your best laid hopes and plans. Some days, just making it to the end of the day still standing feels like success.

It’s not that you aren’t trying; maybe you even accomplished some great things last year! But—maybe you hit some speed bumps. Okay, pot holes. Or perhaps a few washed out bridges that left you stranded and lost.

Maybe it was a grim diagnosis. Or maybe a lost job or a hurtful rejection left you reeling. Maybe the death of a loved one or an overwhelming schedule left you on the brink of despair.

There’s no use fighting it. Life often zigs when we think it will zag.

So then, should we tiptoe into the new year with anxiety, anticipating all the potential ways life might try to knock us down?

Definitely not.

But trust me; I get it. Easier said than done, right?

After spending far too much time in hospitals and doctor’s offices with my family over the past few years, I recognize my gut reaction to hunker down and hide for the incoming year. The struggle is real.

But here’s the good news: We can recognize and respect the difficulties this life brings, while also holding tight to the enormous hope we have in Jesus. This very hope is what makes all the difference as we journey through this broken, yet beautiful, world.

It’s okay to acknowledge the fact that sometimes (though not always!) life is just plain hard. Actually, the Bible compares our earthly sufferings to labor pains, and as someone who has given birth three times, I love this analogy!

Paul says in Romans 8:22-23, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.”

Labor pains aren’t constant—thank goodness. They come in waves with a peak of intensity, falling away into a moment or two of rest before beginning again. Doesn’t this pattern sound familiar in regard to life? Who of us hasn’t groaned inwardly a time or two (or a thousand) as we long for eternal life with our Savior, pain-free and perfect?

Earlier in the passage, Romans 8:18 says this: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

In the moment, our present sufferings can sometimes feel debilitating. But according to the Apostle Paul, the hope we have in Jesus overshadows our suffering so much that it’s not even worth comparing the two!

Believing this can be hard to swallow in the thick of our troubles, but it’s important to remember; this is how we cling to Jesus and move forward even when we’d rather curl up in bed and stay put for a month.

And when we’re lost in the mental mess of wondering what the point of it all is… we find comfort in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (emphasis mine)

We need to get comfortable with not having all the answers. We need to stop using the fact that we don’t know what will happen as an excuse to remain stagnant. We need to stop letting fear of suffering keep us from living life with hope and purpose. The only way to do so is to sincerely trust that God is working all these messy problems out for ultimate good, as the verse above says. He’s a master at that, isn’t he?

This year will likely bring challenges we don’t want to face. It will likely knock us off our feet a time or two, because this earth is in the thick of labor pains as we move toward our final destination of heaven where all will finally be made right and whole.

But you know what else? This year will likely bring us healing, laughter, progress, goodness, and hope too! Because that’s also how labor works; there are respite periods to energize and refresh us, strengthening us for whatever lies ahead.  And so we cling to God’s goodness and hope during this in-between period as we await our new birth into heavenly perfection.

Let’s not borrow trouble from the future by focusing on potential difficulties that lie ahead. Instead, let’s focus on being secure in our relationship with God and all the stability, comfort, peace, and hope he fills us with to keep us putting one foot in front of the other.

So, if you’re not feeling it, give yourself permission to ditch the shiny new planner and color-coded tabs with lists of all the ways you intend to improve yourself this year. It’s enough to lean into God and journey forward side by side into the coming months. He’ll hold you up, and you might even find yourself dreaming again, making plans and setting goals!

 It’s going to be a good year, friends. Why? Because, even through the difficulties that we’ll inevitably encounter, we have a God who loves us, saves us, works all things for good, and gives us his own strength, rest, and joy (yes joy) to keep us going. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28&30

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

(And by the way, if you’re looking for a quick and inspiring fiction read that demonstrates God’s presence and goodness during trials, you might want to check out my first novel, Power Up! While the main character is in middle school, I’ve received incredible feedback from adults who have read it and come away inspired in new ways!)

Thanks for reading, and have an amazing month!