The Next Year

…forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13, 14

Paul had reason to forget the past – he had held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:57.58). We have all done things for which we are ashamed and we live with a great sense of guilt. We have all experienced failure and live in the tension of what we have been and what we want to be. Failure is never pleasant. It is heartbreaking to lose a job, see a relationship falter, or fail a test. But the immediate disappointment we feel when we face defeat can be turned into the joy of success if we take the right attitude. Take the case of John Mark. He had joined Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey to Cyprus and Perga but then he deserted them. At this point he was looked upon as a failure. But because he was willing to make another effort, he became a valuable asset to Barnabas on a later trip to Cyprus. Finally, when Paul was in jail, he wanted Mark with him, saying that he was ‘profitable’ to him for the ministry (2 Tim. 4:11)

If you have faced a personal defeat during 2010, don’t view it as final. Learn from it and use that temporary setback as one more step toward success for Christ. Because our hope is in Christ, we can let go of past guilt and look forward to what God can help us become. Don’t dwell on your past; instead grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on your relationship with Him now.

I hope that regardless of what 2010 or any previous year has been like for you, with God’s help ‘the next year’ will be a great and blessed one.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Uncle Wong