Helen Lock, our Playtime Coordinator, shares her thoughts on stepping into this New Year through the journey of the wise men.
Many of us find approaching a new year challenging for one reason or another, and sometimes it can seem quite flat after the Christmas celebrations.
The days are short and cold and we may be daunted by all the talk of New Year resolutions or goal setting. So, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some encouragement, which I hope will bring a spring to your step and help you see the New Year through different eyes.
Many believe that this is the time of year when the Magi arrived to visit baby Jesus. It’s not certain how long that journey would have taken them. Babylon is approximately 900 miles and travelling by camel would have taken them some time and been very painful and tiring. But they would have been helped considerably because they had their sights set on seeing the most incredible gift that God has given to this world – his Son!
Can you imagine their thoughts and emotions as they began their journey? I wonder what conversations they had on the way. Through every step they (or the camels) took, I am sure they were expecting something amazing but would they have realised the significance? Would they have realised that they were going to meet the saviour of the world?
Their anticipation would have grown throughout the journey and they must have been bursting with excitement by the time the star led them to Jesus. I wonder how they felt as they presented him with the incredible gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh – an offering from their hearts.
We too can present the gift of Jesus to our communities, families and teams this year. And as we open our hearts to God and others, are we expectant of what God can do this coming year?
Just as the wise men may have had butterflies in their stomachs as they anticipated what was ahead of them, let’s also step into this New Year excitedly awaiting what God wants to do in and through us in our ministries. As we pray for our families to come back through the doors of our groups in 2023, let’s put a spring in our step – fuelled with the joy that God can ‘do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us’. Ephesians 3:20.
This New Year let’s be expectant of God’s goodness in our lives, and the lives of those we serve.
Happy New Year
Helen
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