5 Assumptions to Release in Order to Receive God’s Best in the New Year

As another year commences, there is a harmful misconception that a new year is like a blank canvas for us to create any picture of life we wish.

I often assume that I can start anew, as if I were a movie scriptwriter adjusting the plot and casting myself as a better, skinnier, healthier version of myself.

While the choice is ours to make changes and commit to healthier rhythms, a new year is anything but a blank canvas. For many of us, we have commitments locked in for the next few months. We still shoulder heavy burdens and difficult relationships or feel the sting of past grief and disappointment that threaten our capacity for something new.

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This year, however, I wonder what it would look like to release old assumptions and, in return, open the door to receive God’s best.

1. Release the assumption that everyone else has a better life. Receive the fact that God has authored a unique story for your life.

If there is one lie that consistently robs our hearts and yours of receiving what God has for us, it is the belief that everyone else has a better life. We scroll past pictures and assume their children don’t argue, their house doesn’t collect dust, and their relationships are thriving.

Even when we know better, we allow idealism and assumptions to create a false narrative that there must also be an easier way. Self-pity and discontent swell and crash like waves all year long, stealing delight in our own beautiful life.

But God reminds us that while He has the power to speak life and light into creation, He has also written our unique stories on purpose. Ephesians 2:10 declares that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (NIV) So, look around, acknowledge the gift of the life you’ve been given, and choose to live it well for the glory of God.

For the full article, visit Family Christian Online.