I absolutely love the New Year with the promise and hope it holds to start over and do things better. So if you're like me, you've been planning and goal setting the things you want to do this year. This is good work but I also think it's just as important to set goals and resolutions for things we don't want to do. These are the things that will disrupt, deter, and ultimately distract us from the goals we actually want to meet. So here are 3 distractions we cannot afford to take into this New Year.
1. Comparison
Comparing our life with someone else’s only leads to discontentment and frustration that will suck us dry of the passion we need to meet our personal goals. It's like driving a car while looking out the side window and wondering why we got in an accident. Comparison takes away time and energy by distracting us to look at what someone else has, which we could be using to better understand what God wants for us. It tells us the lie that what someone else has is better and their grass is greener. But trust me when I say this, God is not holding out on you. He has a perfect plan for your life that He has designed for only you to fulfill. So keep your eyes on the road and stay in your lane to ensure you make it through 2017 with no casualties to your purpose, plan, and promise.
2. Fear
Fear has a way of paralyzing us, mostly with lies. Most of the things I fear never really happen, yet I could go my whole life living as they do. What a waste! Which is why fighting fear is a personal goal of mine this year. I've spent too many years of my life shrinking back to fear hoping it would just go away. This year I finally realized fear would not give up that easily and neither would I. It's not an easy fight, but it's always worthwhile.
We must fight when fear tells us we can't meet out goals because of a million different reasons. The goal of fear is to distract us into looking at ourselves, everyone else, and our circumstance to kill the courage we need to move forward. But you know Who fear doesn't want us to give our attention to? Our God. Because looking to God for help and trusting Him is the complete cure for fear. Fear may constantly be in the back of our minds but it has no power over us when we choose to believe God is greater. So let's give fear a one-two punch this year by letting all our fear, big and small, know we don't care what you have to say, we trust the Lord.
3. Insecurity
Did you know fear has an ugly cousin? Yes, her name is insecurity and she is officially uninvited to 2017.
This year I see you going to social gatherings and actually enjoying yourself because you're not worried about what others might think of you.
I see you posting to social media and not needing to check back every 5 seconds to see who and how many people responded.
I see you sleeping peacefully at night because you're not drowning in thoughts about if what you said to your co-worker came across the wrong way and what she thinks of you now.
Insecurity speaks to us as though she's trying to help us stay self-aware but it's just another distraction to keep our focus off God and the plans He has for our lives.
Simply put, we just don't have time for insecurity.
Not today.
Not in 2017.
Not ever.
And we don't need to have time for insecurity when we know who's we are in Christ. We don't need to worry and obsess over what other people think of us when we know what God thinks of us.
So let me break this down. The God of the universe makes Heaven and Earth, the sun and the moon, all the land animals and all the sea animals, and that was not enough. It wasn't until he created man and woman that God finally declared His creation good. But that's not it. Then God shows the man that he needs more and that more is woman. You my sister are the crown of God's creation. It's just not the same without you.
So please understand that God doesn't just think you're good, and beautiful, and completely capable. He made you that way. Now let's allow this truth to reign in our hearts and minds because in this truth there is absolutely no room for insecurity.
So let’s say goodbye comparison, so long fear, good riddance insecurity, and hello 2017!
