By Rev. Dr. David Dubovich
As we embark on our journey this New Year, I want us to focus on God’s love for us. God is righteous, good and just. All of these things describe God because of His grace and His love. Remembering this, we can begin this new year following the path of the Lord because He will set our hearts and our minds straight. When we learn to lean on the Lord we will find true compassion for the world. Isaiah 26:7-11 speaks to this directly.
“The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desires of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When judgment comes upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the Lord. O Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.”
When it comes to the New Year, we think it is a time to start our lives over again, make different choices and really fix or forget about our mistakes. God has one way for us to go. He wants us to go His way. Isaiah is telling us that God’s path is smooth because God makes it smooth. If we walk in God’s way, He and His path will be the desires of our heart. The problem is that we try to take control. We make our own decisions that best suit us. The whole idea that “I can do whatever I want to and what I want to do is none of your business…You don’t question me and I won’t question you…” The problem is, that is a very self-centered way to live life. Our society tells us to look out for number one; we can do that, but when we do things our way, the path won’t be smooth. Isaiah tells us that grace will be shown to us, but we won’t learn righteousness. Why? It is because when we see grace, we put our own spin on it. God’s grace and love are the purest forms of those two things you can get.
The Bible says that we are born into a world of sin.
So, what can we do about this? The duty of a Christian is not to chastise a world for not believing like us or show intolerance because people live in sin. Our duty as Christians is to live our lives as Christ told us to, with righteousness and love and grace. Our witness to the lost and dying world should be our own lives…first and foremost. It doesn’t stop there though. We need to get out and show those that don’t agree with us that we still love them because Christ loves them. It is not our job to win them to the Lord…that is a job left to God alone. We are a vehicle used to plant seeds.
This New Year, start off on the right foot by deciding that you are going to follow the only true path…that of the straight and narrow. Jesus Christ has a lot in store for you this year. When God closes a door, as He did on 2024, He always opens up another door. The common misconception is that all we have to do is walk through the new one. The number one thing you have to do is look for the door. You can’t walk through something you haven’t found. Find where God is trying to lead you and then walk through. That is the only way 2025 will be as successful for you as God wants it to be.