Why do we get emotional when the calendar starts over in January? It happens every twelve months and has since Julius Caesar decided we needed a calendar in the year 45 bc. Recognizing the beginning of a new year and putting the old year behind us depends on how we each look at the event. On the one hand, we have successfully survived another year; on the other, we can look forward to the unknown events of the following year. Second Corinthians 5:17 reminds us that the old has passed away, and behold the new has come. Both the passing and the beginning are reasons to celebrate.
As humans, we all share primal instincts. The most basic is the desire to survive and thrive. Recognizing that we have lived to see another year is exciting. Being able to look forward to more life is even more exciting. We all believe that the future will always be better than today. We generally are an optimistic bunch. We forget that, as humans, we can only accomplish what God allows us to accomplish. James 4: 14 reminds us that we do not know what tomorrow will bring and that our time is brief and will soon be gone. James 4:15 tells us that everything is based on the “Lord’s will” as to how we should live and “do this or that.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 instructs us to “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” It seems part of our nature is to want to preserve the past. And play the “What If” game in our heads. The one thing we can not change is the past. Even if the liberal left tries to rewrite history, it is still what it was, and pretending does not make it any different. In Luke 9:62, Jesus tells us, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” This verse is the modern-day equiveillance of being told that the rear-view mirror is smaller than the windshield for a reason. About 900 years before Jesus, a guy named Solomon in Ecclesiastes 7:10 tells his people not to ask, “why were the former days better than these? For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” Then some 1000 years later, Paul teaches people to look forward to the future and be encouraged by what will be accomplished, telling folks that the old has passed away in Second Corinthians. Not a lot has changed in the last 2000 years.
We still allow the past to interfere with the present. “One big way we waste our life minutes is by residing in guilt and regret from the past. When we do so, we pull emotion from a past experience into the now, which corrodes the present moment like battery acid. We allow these old thoughts to uncover old feelings, and then bang, we are right back in that place again, reliving the whole awful experience as if it were really happening, and to the brain, it is.” (Quinn, 2022) Paul reminds us again in Philippians 3:13-14 to look to the future when he says, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The Bible has at least fifty-two verses that refer to the past and suggest moving away from the past.
Knowing that we should look forward to the future gives us hope and excitement, not knowing what to expect. The Bible reassures us of our future and warns that there will be issues to contend with. Jeremiah 1:5 assures us that God knew us before we were born. Jeremiah goes on in 29:11, telling us that God has a plan for each of us that is for our welfare and not for evil, which should give us a future and a hope. In Matthews 10:30, Jesus tells us that God knows everything, down to the number of hairs on our heads. God knows our hearts and our minds and wants us to follow his plans so we can spend eternity in Heaven with him. Nothing can happen that God is not aware of. Remember, God has a plan for us, and it is a good plan. God knows the number of our days and will show us what he wants us to do. But we must want to follow God’s plan and ignore our personal desires and the Devil’s influences. In Psalms 139:4, David shows respect and amazement the all-knowing God knows the words coming out of David’s mouth before he can speak them. We should all be excited and make every effort to succeed in the coming year. We should be cheerful, kind, and full of prayer as the new year begins. We should also be cautious and approach the future with proper respect. Proverbs warn us not to be “boastful” about tomorrow because we do not know what a new day may bring.
We can not change the past, and we cannot control the future. Many of us spend way too much time lamenting about our past. The “what ifs” and the “wish I had of” eat at our peace of mind. We all have made mistakes and wish we had done things differently. That is just part of being a human being. Lamentation 3:23 reminds us that a new problem will greet us each day. Matthews 6:34 reminds us that each day has troubles of its own and that we need not create new worries to have something to do. We spend too much time worrying about tomorrow and will undoubtedly miss today’s blessing.
“Twenty-somethings are now worrying for an average of one hour and 45 minutes a day, an increase of 23 minutes. But the greatest jump in jitters is among the 60-and-over population. Researchers say this segment is mired in fear for 67 minutes each day — up from an average of 37 minutes. Fifty-somethings’ times spent worrying is up from 57 minutes to an hour-and-a-half.” (Lee, 2020) If you take a minute to do the math, we will spend 170 days devoted to nothing but worrying over ten years. That wastes over half a year, twenty-four hours a day for six months. Several studies conducted at Penn State found that only eight percent of things people worry about come true. We are reminded not to waste our lives in Proverbs 6:9-11, Colossians 4:5, and many other verses, that life is short. Mark Twain jokingly said he had been through many terrible things and that some of them actually happened. We should realize that tomorrow and someday never will arrive. So, time spent contemplating events that will never materialize is a waste. We need to remember Philippians 4:6-7 and enjoy each and every day. This verse reads, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Lee, C. (2020, 7 5). Study Find. Retrieved from Older Adults Spend Almost Twice as Much Time Worrying……: https://studyfinds.org/older-adults-spend-almost-twice-as-much-time-worrying-about-health-finances-since-onset-of-covid-19/#:~:text=Researchers%20say%20this%20segment%20is,%2Dand%2Da%2Dhalf.
Quinn, K. (2022, 6 17). Psychology Today. Retrieved from Stop Wasting Your Life Minutes worrying: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/optimized/202206/stop-wasting-your-life-minutes-worrying