The new roaring 20’s are upon us. I saw enough Great Gatsby memes to last me the decade, but no one has called me “old sport”…yet…
A new year has a way of infusing excitement, freshness and vigor into your life, but a new decade just has a different energy to it.
Now, I’m all about goals, resolutions, Bible reading plans, new habit formation, Wim Hof, cold showers, meditation, breathing exercises…give me all the things. I mean look no further than this for proof:
- How to set Christ-Centered Goals
- 10 Questions Everyone Should Ask Themselves
- The Dangers of Goal Setting
However, in the midst of all my reflection, planning, resolutions and goal setting God was gracious enough to stop me dead in my tracks to share the most crucial truth for me to remember in 2020.
No amount of achievement, self improvement or personal growth would ever be the ultimate “lifter of my head”, that role would be reserved for God alone.
But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. Psalm 3:3-4
Self-help can’t save us from our sin.
Losing 20lbs can’t sustain our souls in the darkest of nights.
No amount of achievement this year, next year or any year that follows can ever fill the eternal longing of the heart.
Personal growth won’t be our shield, our glory or the lifter of our heads, but God will be. His word promises it and the Lord keeps his promises.
I pray that 2020 is the best year yet and filled with positive achievements.
However, even more important, is that we would remember who the true lifter of our heads will be at the end of the day, the year and the decade.
AMEN! Thank you, Scott, for declaring the Truth. Much of the Church’s attention is on self-help: how-to overcome this & that . . . Oh & here are a couple Bible verses to support you . . . Worship has far too often become happiness-seeking & performance-based, filled with sensory overload (“Welcome! Care for some earplugs?”) What our senses SHOULD be overcome by is the horrendous & holy sacrifice of Christ. And by that sacrifice alone, because the millions of sacrifices before were insufficient, the curtain is torn & we can now draw near the Holy of Holies by faith . . . Yes THAT God Who designed that plan and Who carries it to completion, is our only hope and He IS the Lifter of our heads. Thank you for re-directing us to God. May He be the focus & center of each & every Christ-follower in 2020. Now that’s a good resolution!
Amen and amen!