Another year has passed, and a new one has begun. We have entered a new season of life, time, and opportunities for new experiences. The new year can also bring about a new focus on our relationship with God. At the beginning of the year, some people take the time to reflect on all the things that occurred over the previous year. Most of these reflections revolve around the negative things that happened or uncompleted tasks. Out of this comes one’s New Year resolutions of all the do’s and don’ts for the new year. In reality, all this does is repackage our past to bring it into the future to make it right. And in the end, we only make ourselves miserable because we are not allowing ourselves to embrace the newness God has created for the present time.

Sometimes, creating New Year’s resolutions becomes more of a punishment than a new way of looking at life, opportunities, and our relationship with God. Twelve days ago, we celebrated Jesus Christ’s birth, which brought hope, joy, love, and peace to earth. John 10:10 tells us “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Let us not overlook why Jesus came but embrace it by being open to the newness each year gives.

As you journey through 2024, will you allow yourself to be open to its newness? The newness of doing ordinary tasks differently. The newness that the changes of 2024 will bring. The newness of meeting different people. And the newness of seeing God work through unfamiliar methods. For God is doing something different right now. Will you allow yourself to see and embrace it?

In Christ,

Pastor Latoya

Pastor Latoya Warren is the senior pastor at Yellow Springs United Methodist Church. She is passionate about reaching the lost for Christ, helping Christians mature in their relationship with God, and delivering sound biblical teachings to the body of Christ.