New Beginnings

Psalms 1:1

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

A time for starting over. A new beginning. A wonderful time to take stock of life and look for ways to improve and grow. Too often, careless resolutions are made that are never kept, and so one year blends into the next with little change. The fact is, all of us have areas in our lives that could stand some improvement. As this new year begins, let us look at our lives with honesty and candor. Let us approach change with a positive spirit, and work toward finding ways to become the people that god wants us to be. Most importantly, ask the Lord to guide and strengthen, for it is through His power that we are able to conquer our failings and turn them into strengths. God is able to see us both as we are and as we can be, and we need that sight in order to truly change. He will steer us away from the ungodly. He will liberate us from the way of sin. He will lead us from scorn to joy. The Lord will do all this and more because of His great and abiding love for His children. Rejoice i n the love of God. he has given us a new year, and desires to give us a new life.

Yes, believers can experience loneliness. I believe the Holidays are the loneliest time of the year. People are told everywhere they're supposed to be happy and they realize they're not. They see everybody else acting happy, and they feel so lonely.

Death, divorce, desertion—even travel can make you lonely. Success can make you lonely. You often hear “it's lonely at the top.” Old age makes you lonely. You can be lonely in a big crowd. You can be lonely in a mall. Loneliness is one of the chief maladies of our age, but Jesus promised, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."

What I am saying, my dear friend, is that when I am discouraged, His presence sees me through. When I am lonely, His presence cheers me up. And when I am worried, His presence calms me down.

The road to success is cluttered with detours, problems and disappointments. And if you don't have the right mindset, your dreams can die there. Indeed, there are days when the needle on your passion meter will be on empty. On those days you need to remember that God gave you your dream to begin with; go back to Him and ask for the strength to keep moving toward it. The Psalmist wrote, 'For You will light my lamp; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall' (Psalm 18:28-29 NKJV).

Who gives you the power to run and leap? God! But you can't sit back, fold your arms and think that He will do it all for you. Between your dream's inspiration and its manifestation, there's going to be a lot of perspiration. As every new parent finds out - it's much harder having and raising a baby than conceiving one. But if you have the passion for your dream, the price tag won't stop you. You'll get up every morning, draw on God's grace and take one more step in the direction of the thing you know God put you on this earth to do.

God’s blessings in your life are sometimes conditional. God withholds blessing to get your attention and bring you to repentance. But even that is an act of love. Sometimes God lets you go through difficulty when you don’t need to repent. He is giving you the opportunity to grow closer to Him, or to minister to someone.

But His love for you is unconditional and unchanging. You can always rely on that truth. Is God asking you to trust Him about something today?

The truth is: We serve a generous God. He delights in giving us opportunities beyond our capabilities. He has promised to equip us, and remain with us through each bend in the road. Although we may not know what is around the corner, we can trust the One who called us. He is our comfort and courage, sustaining us through difficulty and rewarding us generously.

Blessings,

Raj Kosaraju