Number Our Days

Embracing a New Year in Christ

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY DREW MATZ

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

-Psalm 90:12

We can see January on the horizon as the final grains of sand fall through this decade’s hourglass. As each day passes, we are reminded again that our time here is only temporary. Day turns to night, and night to day. Days turn to weeks and weeks to months. Time even seems to go by faster the older we become, yet there are no breaks on this train – no way to hit the pause button to stop and reflect.

As Solomon laments,

What does man gain by all the toil

    at which he toils under the sun?

A generation goes, and a generation comes,

    but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises, and the sun goes down,

    and hastens to the place where it rises.

-Ecclesiastes 1:3-5

Like Solomon, the speed at which life can pass us by can be dizzying. We can become overwhelmed at life’s pace as we struggle to make heads or tails of choices we are faced with. The pressure and anxiety of life can eat away at us in the form of depression and broken relationships. Yet, God gives us his grace in Christ to help us when life becomes overwhelming. Here are some things to keep in mind as we prepare to tackle a new year:

Identify

Often our anxiety comes from forgetting who we are in Christ. As the year turns, the calendar reminds us that we are truly a new creation:

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

-2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Thus, as we enter into a new calendar year, remember your identity in Christ and rest in the fact that you are a baptized child of God.

Turn Around

The New Year is as great a time as any to resolve to making changes to our lives in keeping with our identity in Jesus. It can beckon us to start anew, to turn away from things that are weighing us down and keeping us from our relationships with God and one another.

Jesus teaches us that repentance is necessary for us to enter his kingdom:

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

-Matthew 4:17

As part of your New Year’s resolution, consider how you might make changes in your life that can help improve your devotion to God.

Bless We the Lord

In the Old Testament, God had a familiar refrain to the children of Israel:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

-Exodus 20:2

Although any Israelite would have known their history, God made sure to repeat it to them often (Exodus 29:46, Leviticus 22:33, etc). This shows us that he wants us to remember his hand in our lives and his role in our salvation.

It is no accident that you have seen another year pass. Everything that happens under the sun is sustained and upheld by God’s providence. Thus, remember the blessing you have received in the Lord. Thank him for the resolve he has given you and the things he has provided you to make it through another year.

Article written by Drew Matz

A native of Southeastern Ohio, Drew moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana where he earned an MA in Theology from Concordia Theological Seminary, cultivating a love for Historical Theology and Biblical Languages. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management from Franklin University. Being from the Appalachian Foothills, Drew is passionate about the outdoors and the natural wonder it inspires. Drew currently resides in Fort Wayne with his wife and daughter.