“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
I’ve always thought it was intersting that Christmas and New Year’s day were only a week apart. This is such a fun time of year when you’re young because school is out and hopefully you have a whole slew of new toys to play with. Perhaps you are able to visit with grandparents and cousins.
As an adult, the week between Christmas and New Years is a little frustrating. A lot of us have to work, but even when in the office productivity is pretty low. One has the impression that the last week of the year is just us spinning our wheels waiting on the excitement of something new.
While my parents were visiting over Christmas, my mom brought out a list of goals that each member of the family set back in 2009. We used to have a family tradition of writing down 10 goals at the beginning of the new year.
Some of the goals were amusing, including my brother’s goal to get six-pack abs. Some of the goals we achieved and brought us great joy, like getting good grades in AP History. Some of the goals were disappointing because we did not achieve them, like getting good grades in math.
Finally, some of the goals were saddening because, despite having achieved our goal, all our efforts didn’t make a difference in the long run. You may have experienced this yourself. For example getting a good grade on the SAT did not translate into getting into your dream college. Or redoing your small business’s website didn’t matter in the long run because you went bankrupt anyway.
My 10 goals from 2009 turned out to be a mixed bag of all of these things. Some joyful success and some disappointing failures.
Looking into the New Year, I do feel like I’m spinning my wheels ready to get started on a new set of goals. However, I’ve also been thinking about the verse above. There are lots of things I want to check off my list in 2018, but I feel that if I am not careful I may be missing out on what God is going to do.
In this passage from Isaiah, Israel is encouraged to forget the pains of the past. We, as God’s people, should not dwell on our failures. Instead, we are called to look and see what God is doing. By faith we are emboldened to approach the future with anticipation. As children of God we are to wait with bated breath and search with keen eyes to find God’s grace springing up from the lifeless earth.
On January 1st, I will likely set a few goals which I’d like to achieve in the New Year. However, I must acknowledge that God’s will and intentions must outweigh my own. We must create margins in our lives so that we are not too busy to see where God is working. We must go into the quiet and deserted places to attune our eyes and equip our hearts to serve Jesus and his people.
And this is very exciting. We serve a living and active God, a God whose grace reconciles our past, present, and future. Our God is always doing a new thing.
Kena Hawkins Newkirk 
This was one of my favorites! So very true that we make many plans not including the Lord, but only our own desires. Wonderful insight in stating God’s goals should come first, in planning our “goals”. He has to be included in each “goal” or we are not truly living for Him just ourselves. Also, we Need Him in order to accomplish these “goals”. My trouble is not asking for His strength, wisdom and guidance daily so my goals are not achieved. Still think I should have made you all write down Goals for 2018 – so important to See the path God has set before us!