Happy New Year! Can I Have This Dance?

 

Happy New Year! Yes, we are there! 2024 is here like a breath of fresh air – especially if we walked outside at midnight to take in 2024 from the outside in.

An entire year of awesomeness awaits us. The squares on our 2024 calendars are blank, but very soon those squares will be filled with activities, events, ceremonies, birthdays, anniversaries and exciting opportunities and adventures for a new year of great conquests and victories.

“Are we there yet?” Those are familiar words to moms and dads who venture out to take road trips with their young ones. After the first hour of an eight-hour journey, they'll ask: “How long until we’re there?” Then, it’s “Are we there yet?” And that’s the language we often use with God.

We pray for a quick fix or an on-the-spot answer to our prayers, but often, God’s timing is NOT our timing. I’ll admit it. Sometimes God’s Word doesn’t make a lick of sense to me (as we say in the South).

“If you say to this mountain, be removed and do not doubt in your heart, it will be removed!” (Mark 11:20) Okay. I’ve got this! “Mountain be removed!” Nada; nothing; zilch! I’ll try this one! “All things are possible to those who believe.” (Mark 9:23). I AM believing! Nada; nothing, zilch! I stare at the words on my Bible’s papered pages and end up scratching my head with the end of my Bible highlighter.

I recently read this, “So God led the people by the roundabout way” (Exodus 13:18). This little passage is about the Israelites leaving Egypt to go to their Promise Land. They messed up with their grumbling and complaining so God let them wander around for forty years. God intentionally led them the roundabout way.

Have you ever felt that way? Did you have a lot of roundabouts in 2023? I suspect that last year didn’t turn out the way many of us planned. Maybe something unexpected and negative happened. If so, let’s take heart. It doesn’t mean that we’re not in God's will. Sometimes He just leads us the roundabout way.

Why? Because His ways are not like ours. Because we think in minutes and He thinks "eternity". We barely see a foot in front of us but He knows the whole story. It may be the winding way that gets us where He plans us to go. And THE WAY might be the slower, scenic route.

This year I hope that I’ll act less like the kid in the back seat asking: “Are we there yet?” every five minutes. I want to lower the window and enjoy the view. It might be a good idea to treat life like a scenic road trip – embracing the grandeur of the mountains, the rivers, AND the valleys. It’s about way more than just getting there.

We don't know what this new year holds, but God knows. He holds our tomorrows and He holds our hands and is with us through the straight and narrow AND the roundabouts.

Our future is bright. Let's purpose to make everyday count because each day is one that God made. He knows everything about everything -- and with that kind of Trip Advisor, if we pay close attention, He'll guide us into making 2024 to be our best, most blessed year EVER!