Dare To Believe

We’ve all heard the clichés that come with a New Year.

“New Year – New You.”

“Out with the old in with the new.”

“Time to write a new chapter in my story.”

“Get behind me Satan!!” 

Okay, that last one probably isn’t said too much but you get the point. Most of us see the new year as a new starting point. It’s the reset button to our lives. Like somehow, magically, changing that “18” to a “19” is going to make some massive profound difference in our lives. Then, inevitably for most of us, a few weeks or days pass by and the old creeps back into the new.

The holidays are over and the determination to be a better worker or student is crushed as you realize you have the same teachers, employers you had before the “18” turned to “19.” You put off making some changes because it was going to be too hard to make it through Christmas. Now that the new year is here, you’re ready to make those changes. But in just a short time, the cravings and temptations return and you find yourself slipping back into the addictions.

For some, spending time with family is an event that’s looked forward to for months. But when the noise fades and the decorations come down, the depression and loneliness are still lurking under the tinsel and garland.

I know what you’re thinking; “Ben, you’re sucking the life out of my New Year’s Resolutions.”

Sorry?

Look, I’m with you. I’ve got things I need to change in my life. I’ve got weight to lose. Books to read. Goals I want to accomplish. But honestly, that’s been my position every January 1^st since I can remember.

This “new chapter” idea is actually a pretty accurate one though. However, we need to remember, a new chapter is just that, a new chapter…to an existing story. In this great story we call life, there is no such thing as starting over. There is only “new chapters.” The idea of a story is that it builds upon events that have already happened. It doesn’t mean that the story can’t change, it just means that there must be a plot twist. The protagonist needs to have a “defining moment.” They need to encounter another person in their journey that rocks their view of the world around them.

The Book of Acts gives us the beginning of a story for a guy named Saul. In Acts 8, he is the keystone character in the persecution of the church. In Acts 9, Saul has an encounter with the person of Jesus that radically changes his life. It has an immediate and profound effect on his life. Look at the next few paragraphs of Paul’s life.

Acts 9:20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.

Major plot twist in the story. Saul had been on his way to arrest those in the synagogues saying Jesus was the Son of God. After his encounter with Jesus, he continued to the synagogues, but now it was to join them in teaching about Jesus.

Acts 9:23 Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. 

Radical change can result in friends becoming enemies.  A common reality for most of us is realizing that change isn’t just hard on us, but sometimes for those around us as well. Not everyone is going to accept what you are trying to become.

Acts 9:26 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. 

Here’s another important realization we need to have…Saul’s old chapters had consequences in his new chapter.

The “19” does not make the choices and circumstance of “18” disappear. There are consequences and circumstances that we carry with us into these new chapters we’re living. The good news is that if you continue to read Saul’s story, he soon becomes known as Paul and goes on to become the greatest apostle to ever live. Understand, this new chapter, new plot twist, new development in his character brought new challenges but Paul believed that encounter with Jesus changed things. I’m sure he would have loved for his past to just disappear but it didn’t. Instead he had to believe that the grace of God made him into a new person.

You can’t pretend 2018 didn’t happen. You need to accept that it did. All the good and bad. Every bit of the highs and bitter disappointments. Every new and precious relationship and every act of betrayal. How you respond and come through these trials is a part of the character development in your story.

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and thought, I can’t believe someone could keep going after all that’s happened to them? Generally, the characters that keep going are the ones that believe there is something worth fighting for. They believe there is a purpose they are meant to accomplish. They believe there is someone out there that will come alongside them in their hour of need and together they can face anything. They believe there is hope.

Here’s the challenge. Do you believe that?  Do you believe there’s hope? Do you believe there’s a purpose worth fighting for? Have you had an encounter with Jesus that made you believe He’s worth changing for? That He will give you the strength to change? That He can create change in a seemingly hopeless situation?

Maybe it’s time for a plot twist in your life. Your story isn’t going in the direction you want it to go. You’re hoping a new year or new chapter will change things. It’s time to encounter the only One that can truly change the outcome of your story.  As we head into 2019, I want to present a challenge to you. “Dare to Believe” for a plot twist this year.

If your own spiritual journey has become dry, believe for a fresh encounter of His Holy Spirit.

Believe for a lost loved one to encounter Jesus for the first time.

Believe for Him to restore those broken relationships as only He can.

Believe for a plot twist in your finances as you trust and obey His direction in this area.

Believe for healing in your body regardless of what doctors have said in past “chapters.”

Believe for your children.

Believe for your marriage.

Believe for your church.

Believe for your city.

Believe for your nation.

Believe that Prayer Changes Things.

Matthew 9:27-29 ²⁷ As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

²⁸ When He had gone indoors, the blind men came to Him, and He asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.

²⁹ Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”;

Dare To Believe