“‘If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.’”
Exodus 16:3 (NLT)
New Years doesn’t always feel like a new beginning. This year, for instance, feels anything but new. Around my house, the sky is grey and the temperature cold. The grass is dead and the trees are dormant. Spring feels way more new than January 1st. And what is new? What makes us say happy New Year and not happy Another Year?
Some definitions of the word new:
fresh, new, unused, novel.
Strong’s concordance
“of recent origin…”
Dictionary app [first definition]
We could just see the New Year as the most recent year, but how can we look at it as fresh or unused? Here’s the answer: What’s a new year except the hope of another 365 days of unused time.
The Israelites were given a new beginning.
God rescued his people out of Egypt. They were to be a nation that would bless all nations. They were God’s chosen people. However, the journey of freedom to the promised land never included an easy road. Immediately after leaving Egypt, God led them the long way to avoid the Philistines. The first test was when Pharaoh and his armies road toward them, but the Israelites’ backs were against a sea. They told Moses that they should have been left to die in Egypt.
Despite their terrible attitude, God made a way. The Israelites put their trust in God, but it wasn’t long before they reached their next obstacle… and their next and the next after that. Each time, they grumbled and/or fantasized about life in Egypt. The verse above is one of the many examples of this.
Don’t be fooled. Life isn’t easy.
Depression has been a monster this winter season. I’ve felt hopeless on a whole new level. Some of you reading this might judge me, but I’m going to be brutally honest: Like the Israelites, I’ve been fantasizing of the days before being a mother. Sure, I was sad and my heart was empty, but I had more freedom and less worries. I didn’t have a special needs human to raise. New Year’s Eve ended with me at the bottom, desperate for escape of any kind.
I fasted the next day. I needed a reset. During the day, I continued my study of Exodus, and as I listened to the podcast, God struck my heart with the knowledge that I was moping like the Israelites. God had rescued me from motherlessness, but motherhood isn’t an easy journey. I had stopped trusting God with the obstacles and forgotten his faithfulness. The Israelites never had it easy, and neither does anyone. Everyone struggles to make it to the next day.
Trust in God.
Trust makes all the difference. This whole experience makes me think about the poem called “Footprints in the Sand.” Read it here. Jesus never forsakes us. He only carries us. Trusting in the Lord provides hope and strength. While the Israelites needed to trust God for daily food, water, and shelter, what I need to trust God for is fruit. That is, the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Producing these qualities is what will get me through motherhood. Not feeling sorry for myself or dreaming of days long gone.
In this new year, commit to trusting in God during the full 365 days of potential.
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