What Are Your Plans for the New Year?

Do you have any plans for the new year? Some people are goal oriented and have a quick response to that question with a list of things they want to accomplish and how it will happen.

Others are just floating through life and take things as they come. They would respond with something like “Plans? I guess I plan to eat and sleep and breathe.” They do not think much about what they will be doing this year. They plan to just roll through this year as it hits them.

I have a son graduating from college in May of 2020, and he gets the question about his upcoming plans a lot. What’s next for him? He has a generic script memorized for a response but the answer is just a veiled version of “I’m not sure.”

Some of us are better at making plans than others. But, the truth is that none of us are certain what we will be doing in 2020 because we have no idea of the events, the challenges, the successes, and the emergencies that will happen. We can’t plan for the things that we have no idea are coming. Or, can we?

We may not know the exact events that will come our way. But, we can prepare for the struggles and unexpected trials by growing closer and closer to the One who knows what the year 2020 holds for us. God knows everything that will occur in the next 366 days (2020 is a leap year). He knows the big, global events that will shape our world. And, He knows the detailed, personal events that will shape your life. What can we do to prepare for the unexpected? Learn to trust Him.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says this: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.”

That is the way to prepare for 2020…trust the Lord.

This passage explains what trust looks like. The call is to “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” You have to trust Him with everything that you have. You cannot hold out and say that you will trust Him with your family but not trust Him with your professional life. Trust Him with all of your heart by knowing that He can handle every aspect of your life.

Another part of trusting is not relying on what you think. “Lean not on your own understanding” the verse says. God knows what is best. You don’t. Trusting Him means not trusting yourself as much. With every aspect of your life, learn to listen to what He says not what you think. Trust.

Your 2020 holds some great things and some big struggles. The best way to thrive in this year is to trust God. Will you choose to trust Him?

(Questions/Responses: jeff.perkins@mbclife.org)