Milestone & Mast

'God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him.' Hebrews 6:10 
                                           

Did you make any New Year resolutions back on January 1? With God, you don't need to wait until a New Year to start again. Lamentations 3:22-24 reminds us every day is a clean slate with God: 'The Lord's love never ends; His mercies never stop. They are new every morning; Lord, Your loyalty is great. I say to myself, "The Lord is mine, so I hope in Him."' No need to 'drown your sorrows' (in the chocolate hidden at the bottom of the tin). Missed chances can be returned to you: Jonah got a second chance, so did Peter, David, Thomas, Samson... the list goes on. When it comes to epic failures, God says, 'I, I am the One who forgives all your sins, for my sake; I will not remember your sins.' (Isaiah 43:25 )

As we mark this half-yearly milestone, make a list of God's faithfulness to you so far in life. Put it in your Bible so you can see it regularly. Whatever this year has felt like so far, God has been with you, and He is faithful for the rest of the year too. So learn from the past, but don't repeat its mistakes. It's ok to look back, but don't drive looking in the rear view mirror... because you're bound to crash.

So it's July - not usually the time when we start reviewing the year. But if we wait until the normal time around end of December, there won't be an opportunity to make any useful changes. So. How's it going so far? More good than bad? A mixed bag? Some nagging stuff you'd rather not remember? With the way our brains are, we often zoom in on our bad moments. So maybe we're looking back and remembering more of our own selfish actions than the broad action of God through us. 'Where's God been so far this year? Should I have worked harder to let Him in? Will it all just happen again, whatever I do?'

But no matter what your half-yearly review looks like, the headline stubbornly remains: God's unfailing, unflapping kindness, tied to us like a sail to a mast. 'God is not unjust' - and more than that, He is so much more than fair to us that it takes a while getting used to.

Sailors lashed themselves to their sail masts in storms. We should lash ourselves to God's character from day to day, month to month, year to year, no matter what each brings. That way, we can remember who He is when change comes. We remember how kind He is to us in our worst times, and how He draws out all the character and growth He can from even the smallest good moments we muster up. Even those brief good moments mean the world to Him.