A Great New Year doesn’t take long

Those who know me know that I’m a golf fanatic. Weather permitting I play twice, and occasionally, three times per week. So I would like to use a golf fact to help us in 2023. According to golf physics experts, when making a shot, the period of time a club is actually in contact with the ball is .0005 seconds. There are thousands of lessons available about what to do with the club before and after that contact but the truth is that the determinate of whether it’s a good shot or bad shot is what happens during that .0005 seconds. If you start the ball off on the right path with the right spin then it’s probably going to turn out pretty good. Every golfer tries put himself in position to make that .0005 seconds count. The same can be said for this upcoming year. There is something refreshing and exciting about a new start. Without question there will be new challenges, heartaches, wonderful surprises, and all of the other things that happen during a year. Ultimately, none of that will be the determining factor of whether or not it’s a good year. What will have the greatest impact on the success of 2023 is our relationship with God. Consider for just a few moments the difference it would make that instead of watching the ball drop you saw your Bible opened. Maybe, just maybe, when the clock strikes midnight instead of jumping and down like a crazy person we should fall to our knees saying “Lord not my will but Yours”.

Now I want to return to my golf analogy. It impossible to consistently get that .0005 seconds right by hitting a golf ball once or twice a year. To get it right a golfer must do it thousands of times always working to make contact correctly. Paul challenged the people at Corinth. 1 Cor 15:31 NKJV I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. I think there are several important lessons in this text. One of which is to start each day with a surrender to Jesus Christ and to His will. Just three verses later Paul wrote 1 Cor 15:34 NKJV Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; … Begin each New Year and each day with the thought of complete surrender “Not my will by Yours”. This kind of surrender doesn’t require hours of prayer or Bible study. However, just like my golf game, it requires getting started right. You think about that.