“I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope” (Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ ‭CEB‬‬).

Happy New Year! It’s the season of resolutions. My personal New Year’s resolution is to work out three times… that’s it. Maybe you were expecting me to say three times a week. Nope, three times total in 2023 (it’s still three times more than what I did in 2022).

Sometimes, as Christians, we put a lot of emphasis on ourselves: what mistakes we’ve made, what opportunities we’re missing out on, what we ought to do moving forward. There’s nothing wrong with making plans to improve ourselves, but interestingly the Bible spends a lot more time focusing on God’s plans. When Jeremiah prophesied to Judahites scattered throughout Babylon they hadn’t done anything to earn the Lord’s favor—and yet God was resolute in leading them home, establishing peace, and providing them hope.

We humans are notoriously unfaithful and inconsistent, but God steadfastly continues to do what God set out to do from the start. With every passing year God’s ancient resolutions draw nearer to the day of ultimate realization, when Jesus returns to fill the earth with peace and make his home with us forever.

Lord, at the start of this new year, open our eyes to see how you’re at work in our lives and in the world around us. Amen.