I’m looking out the window in the early morning on a very cold 3 degree Colorado day thinking about the New Year. Who can tell what we will find? What new experiences, what changes shall come, what new needs shall arise? The TV networks look back at the top stories of 2018. While the top story of my life or yours’ in 2018 didn’t make the national or local news we know what it was.
Perhaps you experienced the loss of a loved one, an encouraging word, a lasting memory, a celebration, health issues or a lesson learned? Many have the need to look back by getting out their mental calculators keeping score of their victories and losses. Most hope this year will be better than last.
Some believe that a good intention means a new beginning, that on their own they can make a new start whenever they want. That would be nice if it was that easy. Despite our high hopes and our best efforts things don’t turn out the way we hoped.
What kind of treadmill are you on?
We may not realize it, but maybe we need to look at the treadmills we’ve been on? Do we need to change our perspective of ‘this is the way things ought to be according to me?’ Or, maybe look at how we measure success or living for the approval of others.
These treadmills don’t just distract us from a satisfied life they can consume us. These perspectives can unknowingly trap and rule us. They can suck the energy right out of us and leave us utterly empty. It’s not easy to let go of all the mental stuff we insist we need for our tomorrows. Some have been stuck in a maze this past year with no end in sight.
This New Year we all have choices to make that will impact our lives
Like bible characters we cannot predict where our lives will take us. In the scriptures we see God’s unmistakable guidance through a burning bush, a fleece, a voice, a dream, an angel. God can also lead us in no less significant ways, like doors.
Perhaps a door has been locked or hidden or a door has meant rejection – ‘They shut the door in my face.’ OR an ‘open’ door can be a choice of boundless opportunities to learn, to do something worthwhile or discover purpose and satisfaction.
In Viktor Frankl’s book The Meaning of Man he tells about how Nazis imprisoned him in a concentration camp. They took away his profession, confiscated his possessions, mocked his dignity, and killed his family. They locked him in a cell with no way out.
Frankl found a door that his guards knew nothing about.
Frankl wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Frankl discovered that doors are not just physical. A door is a choice.
Author John Ortberg said about Frankl. “Frankl found that when his circumstances had closed every outer door to him, they revealed to him the doors that matter far more—the doors through which a soul can leave fear and enter into courage, leave hatred and enter into forgiveness, leave ignorance and enter into learning.
He discovered that his guards were actually more imprisoned – by their cruelty and ignorance and foolish obedience to barbarism—than he was imprisoned by walls and barbed wire.”
There is always an open door for you to choose during this entire New Year! You just need to be able to see them. God provides open doors for you to make wise choices especially when you are assured that your Heavenly Father cares for you.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in You. I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness. Psalm 26:3; 33:22
For deeper insights on making wise choices see of Open Doors and decision making
