By Rebecca Holloway
Somewhere in the middle of the rain, the merriment, and the holiday travel, the new year dawned. And here we sit with a chance to start over again.
A couple of weeks ago, the Lord had given me my verse for the year and a couple of words. (With me, it never seems to follow the pattern of a single word. I usually get multiple words.) The verse hit me like a ton of bricks as I was flipping through the book of Isaiah to another passage.
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”
(Isaiah 43:18)
And goodness, there are some things I need to forget. Some things I need to let go. Some things from which I need to move on. Last year I asked the Lord to make me fruitful in the land of my suffering (Genesis 41:52). I don’t know how fruitful I really was, but I am ready to be out of the land of suffering. Suffering will never be gone from any of our lives, but I am ready to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. (Philippians 3:13)
How will I do that? The other words the Lord gave me were obedience and surrender. I don’t know exactly what the obedience means yet. But I do know the surrender means that I need to let go and fall into the arms of the One who knows what is best for me. His plan alone is the right plan for my life. I need to stop fighting Him and start trusting Him. I need to stop trying to gain control and give full control to the One who controls the entire universe.
So let’s do this thing, 2019. Let’s expect God to lead us to new places. And let’s enjoy the process. Let’s stop living in the past and start seeing what God has for us in the present. Let’s be surprised by Jesus this year, who can do more than we could ask or think. Out with the old. I’m ready for the new!
Rebecca Holloway is the wife of Stewart Holloway, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Pineville. This editorial first appeared on her One Minute Blog site.
