New Year, Same God

I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. (Malachi 3:6 NIV)

Around this time every year, I begin to see New Year memes popping up in my social media feeds. You know the ones. They typically say something like “New Year, New Me.” They talk about cutting weight or cutting crummy boyfriends. They talk about loving yourself in a new way.

Reflecting on a previous year’s failures and disappointments seems to stir up a desire to turn over a new leaf, find a new passion, or simply be better versions of ourselves in the new year. Some of us do this by making resolutions or choosing a special word to help us focus. Many of us don’t keep those resolutions through February.

Last year and the year before I chose the word abide as a focus word instead of making a resolution. I struggle daily to remain in God’s love, peace, and promises during tough times, so I decided to focus on abiding in him, on dwelling in his presence. I even purchased a physical reminder: a bracelet with the word abide spelled out in sparkly letters. The I in abide is an arrow, pointing up, reminding me where my help comes from (Psalm 121:1–2 NIV).

Abide is an easy word to say. It’s also easy to understand. It means to dwell, to live, to be held, to remain. Basically, it means to stay put.

While abiding is easy in theory, it’s much more difficult in practice. The year 2018 was no exception for me. It began with a mission trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was the most beautiful, heartbreaking two weeks of my life. I left pieces of myself there, ones I hope never come back. Brokenness doesn’t necessarily equal damage.

Returning from Cambodia strong, abiding, and full of spirit, I was ready to do whatever the Lord asked. But then our family plunged into a plethora of medical issues and other stressors over the course of the next seven months. We had dental emergencies, five trips to the ER, an appendicitis scare, multiple stomach viruses, a torn ACL, an infected ACL surgery that had to be reopened, and a broken arm. Plus, our dog bit my mother-in-law in the face and had to be removed from our home.

Just yesterday a neighbor texted to tell me that one of our neighborhood dumpsters was on fire—a literal dumpster fire. That about sums up 2018.

Because of the crazy of the last several months, I’m tempted to make a new resolution, to choose a new word, to pick a New Year, New Me theme. But I won’t. Why? A new me isn’t what’s needed; the unchanging grace of Jesus is.

At some point in all the chaos, I lost my bracelet along with my desire to abide. My rebellious, frustrated spirit refused to be held by the One who loves me most. I ignored the Holy Spirit and tried to make it on my own. My big-girl pants were securely in place, my bootstraps were pulled up, and I had my rally cap turned backward. It did not go well. Not only did I become emotionally and physically exhausted, but I had never felt so distant from God.

I found my bracelet about a month ago, just in time for my heart to remember its greatest desire: to be held by the Creator—the One who never changes, the One who stays the same from beginning to end. As I read the verses in his love story to me, I felt the words flood my soul. I’ve been here the whole time, he whispered. He was just waiting on me. No resolution or special word could have changed me the way he did in those quiet moments.

Finding comfort in the unchanging mercy of the Lord is more valuable than any change we can create inside ourselves. It’s more precious than any word our vocabularies can acquire. Changes we make on our own are temporary, but the changes we allow him to make in us are everlasting.

Are you planning for a New Year’s resolution or word for the year? I challenge you to instead ask God how he wants to change you. His changes will always draw us closer to him. His ways will make us stronger and healthier, and they will show us that we are priceless to him. Knowing his heart for us will give us a new outlook. We don’t need resolutions; we just need Christ. Abiding in the One who loves us most will do more for our souls than any promise we make to ourselves.

This year, then, while others are choosing resolutions or new focus words to make themselves better, let’s rely on our Father in heaven to change us from the inside out. He will remain steadfast and unchanging, just like he promises.

Becky Yurisich is a full-time Army wife and mom, and an occasional teacher of first graders. She is an unapologetic follower of Jesus and the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. Becky holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from UNC, and dreams of writing a book. She blogs at beckyyurisich.com.

Photograph © Annie Spratt, used with permission