Originally published Monday, 04 January 2016.
Do I have it in me? Can I even do this thing I have before me?
I spent this last week on our family’s yearly Christmas trip. This trip has offered an annual time of reflecting and closure from one year and hoping and planning for the next.
Hoping and planning for today, really. Today is the start.
But, after days of reading and planning and praying, today I come to utter Doubt. That fateful enemy. He’s always there, just hidden behind anticipation and wonder. Some days, his shadow appears larger than others, and today he’s especially enormous.
Why me? Where do I start? How? What if...?
He flings these heavy questions, one by one, until I’ve ducked so low I can no longer raise my eyes. Instead I bury my head – literally resting it on my coffee cup until a red ring forms on my forehead. Round and around like the thoughts chasing each other in there.
Me. Doubt-filled and face-planted, in caffeine.
And, you? Are your dreams for 2016 morphing into mountains, now that you’ve arrived at the reality of Monday?
Yeah. I get it. It’s easier to plan than put into practice, isn’t it?
But, truth is - mountains have never quietly moved on, and dreams have never suddenly or simply been accomplished. We aren't called to look for easy but for possibility - because of a power beyond our capacity.
For, a faith-filled step past our natural ability is a step closer to the Almighty.
That's where we belong this year. That's our calling. Starting today.
So now, it’s time to raise our heads and raise our coffee mugs to callings – callings that require us to push beyond our capacity.
Let's toast to perseverance, asking God to keep our feet steady on when we long for easier routes. We toast to faith that will sustain us through what we can’t see clearly. And, we toast to dreams and goals, the fuel He gives to bring forth His work in us. Welcome 2016.
And so, I’m sipping my now lukewarm coffee, and saying cheers to a new year, friends. May we stare down our doubts with our eyes lifted high; for, beyond that mountain before us is a source of strength for power in possibilities, for this day and each day.
Psalm 121:1-2 "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth."
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