All over the world, Christmas celebrations are coming to a close. The trees are being taken down, extended families are returning home, and leftovers are disappearing as we shift our focus to the New Year and our deepest hopes for it.
If you’re like me, you have written goals down. You know what you’d like to see happen in your life, and maybe you even have a good idea of how to make those things happen. But as we enter this fresh start, I want to encourage you with one piece of wisdom: your position will always influence your success more than your plans will. I’m not referring to your position at work or in your home; I’m referring to your position with God.
Here’s how I think about it. According to expert scientists, the sun is approximately 93 million miles from the earth. If it were any closer, we would fry; if it were any further, we would freeze! But because the sun is in the perfect position, we can prosper and fulfill the purpose God created us for. In the same way, when we position ourselves rightly toward the Son—Jesus—we’ll prosper and bring forth our full potential!
The best way to position ourselves before God is to treasure His Word. The New Testament shows that while on earth, Jesus was determined to instill in His coming Church a reverence for the scroll—the Scriptures. He said In Matthew 5:18, “…until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
Jesus recognized that God’s Word is infallible and knew that how we treasured it would prove crucial to our lives and eternities. He also understood that as generations continued, forces would threaten our respect for the scriptures. And they have! It’s only when we prioritize our position by treasuring God’s Word that our plans will prosper.
This prospering happens in three stages. First, through the new birth—when God’s Word transforms us into a new person living with new hopes. 1 Peter 1:3-4 speaks of this when it says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.”
Second, Scripture brings blessing into our life through saving faith. As we study the Bible, its words birth new hopes (James 1:18), judge our thoughts and attitudes (Hebrews 4:12), mature us so we can inherit blessing (Acts 20:32), wash away what makes us unholy and unhealthy (Ephesians 5:26), and bring us into the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). Then, we live victorious lives, as the plans God has predestined for us come to pass.
This victorious life is what I am believing for you and yours in 2025 and beyond. Happy New Year, friends!
