new year - Jeremiah's Vow

2022: The Fog

We’re in the beginning of the 4th week of 2022. And I’m still processing why it doesn’t feel like the new year even happened…

I also wonder: Does anyone else feel that way or is it only me?

I don’t have any specific answers yet as to why. But as I’ve been spending time with God about it, and He gave me this image: a foggy hiking trail thru the forest.

This “hiking trail” actually represents a path I’ve been on with Jesus for a while now. It started well before the pandemic, but I just wasn’t aware of it until the lockdown in 2020 created the space for me to acknowledge it and begin exploring it with Him.

I’ve started talking about the path I’m on as wandering with Jesus.

Not because I’m lost. I’m not.

Mostly because Jesus isn’t lost and I’m walking with him. So he knows where we are going, even if I don’t.

But also because the wandering isn’t actually new, or without meaning. It’s a part of the path He’s always been trying to lead me on, in a very intentional way. I just wasn’t aware of it, so I couldn’t talk about it.

For too long in my relationship with Jesus, I saw feelings of wandering as problems to be solved. And now I know that’s never been the case…

I’ve been aware of my wandering with Jesus for a little while now. And I know many others are “waking up” to it too. I’ve spoken with so many who feel dismissed by “church leaders” because of their wandering.

And I just want to say: I’m sorry.

I’m more interested in finding ways to wander together than to “fix” the wandering anymore. Because I know, what Jesus wants for me is the relationship(s) along the way anyways.

And 2022 just brought something new to the wandering: fog.

Before I would have seen the fog as an obstacle to be overcome.

Something Jesus had to solve. Something He had to clear so we could get to where we were going.

But now that I’ve embraced the wandering, I realize now that’s not the purpose of the fog at all. And that it’s also not Jesus’ desire.

He wants me to focus on Him. Not what He can do for me.

The fog will likely slow us down on our walk. And that’s okay. That’s probably exactly what I need right now.

So if you find yourself in a place where the only way you know how to describe it is wandering – I get it. I’ve discovered this wandering has actually always been the plan all along. It’s not a problem to be solved. It’s a path to focus me on what matters: the relationship(s).

I’m not sure what all 2022 will hold. But I do know it has started with a fog. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll help me slow down even more, so I can see even more clearly when it’s gone.

If you’re wandering with Jesus and looking for others who are too, I’m there with you. It might help not to wander alone. I’m glad I don’t feel like I am. I remember when I did.

Maybe 2022 for you will include finding others to wander with…I think it will for many people. If you want to explore what wandering with Jesus, with others could look like – reach out. There’s a number of us talking about that very thing right now.

I’m just thankful I’ve embraced this wandering with Jesus. Trying to solve it, like I used to do all those years ago, meant I missed out on so much of what He was wanting for me.

I’m looking forward to another year of wandering…but there’s some fog right now, so I’ll be taking it a little slower. Jesus has something for me in it.

New Year, New Things

I hope everyone has had a good start to a new year.

There have been some changes to the platform we use for this website. One of them had to do with the overall look. We are making a few change for upkeep reasons.

So… we will be tinkering with the look and layout of the site. Hopefully this will not be too much of a distraction to your reading experience.

Thank you for your patience as we make some needed updates!

Sincerely,

Victor

God Remembers that we are Dust

God is interested in doing more than merely punishing people. … God desires for us to have a relationship with him.

I was reading this morning and Psalm 103 and I was struck by a section of the passage. It began in verse 10.

¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. ¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; ¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgression from us. ¹³ As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. ¹⁴ For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. … ¹⁷ But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s generation, ¹⁸ to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.
Psalm 103:10-14, 17-18 ESV

What I found interesting about this passage is the way in which the author relates God’s dealing with us is the reason for the way he deals with us. In verse 10 he says, “he does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.” What I find interesting is that too often in the church we believe that God is punishing us because of our sin. And to some degree that’s correct, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. There is something else at work that the psalmist is trying to teach us.

God is interested in doing more than merely punishing people. A good father disciplines his children. We see that in Scripture. But there is something else that God is after as it relates to our relationship with him. And what is that? God desires for us to have a relationship with him.

God doesn’t deal with us according to our sins or iniquities because, according to verse 14, “he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust.” God is not blind nor is he ignorant to who we are or what we are. This should not only give us comfort but it should remind us that there is something beyond our failures that God is interested in. What is that? It is our relationship with him. I want to repeat this point because I think it’s too often misunderstood or left unsaid.

One of the implications of this passage is that if we do not relate to God as he desires then there is a sense in which our sin and our iniquities and our frame and the fact that we are dust will have consequences on our lives. But if we relate to God as he desires, if we understand what is at stake and what it is that we’re supposed to be doing, then it becomes easier for us to not fear God in terror but to fear God in reverence.

Several times in the passage we see what it is that God is looking for, as a way of knowing that we understand what he is looking for.

In verse 11 we see him say that his steadfast love toward us is “toward those who fear him.”

In verse 13 it says that the Lord shows compassion “to those who fear him.”

In verse 17 the “steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him.”

And then in verse 18, we see that this everlasting love is “to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.”

What can we learn from this? I think we can learn that we tend to put expectations upon ourselves about what God desires from us and for us that may not be consistent with who he is what he has said.

I think this is a healthy reminder as we begin the new year.

No Resolutions this Year

If you like making resolutions, and it works for you, then go for it. I’ve just realized that it’s not for me.

Last night a few members of my church family gathered together to ring in the New Year. As several shared testimonies of God’s grace and goodness, I made up my mind about one thing I was NOT going to be doing this year. I am not going to be making any resolutions. Instead of resolutions, I want to make commitments.

I know that this may not seem like a big difference. But I think there are three reasons that there is, and I hope to at least argue for them even if you may not agree.

First, making a commitment does not put me on an artificial timetable. This has always been one of the reasons I hated making resolutions. I always felt so much pressure it left me feeling uninspired. However, for me, a commitment is more about pattern change. I want to change the way I do certain things. There are goals and tasks that need doing, but I need to find ways of doing them that don’t leave me frustrated. Frustration is the first step toward abandoning anything we want to do in our lives.

Second, making commitments forces me to evaluate what is truly important to me. There are a few things I have been thinking about for this year. Some of them are personal that I want to do. Others are related to my family and how I lead them. I will be sharing more over the course of the year as I work on these commitments.

Third, as a Christian, the language of commitment is more consistent with what I believe it means to express my faith in the world. The language of covenant and of faithfulness in our labors is closer to making commitments than resolutions. With this as a guiding principle, I felt that continuing to make resolutions was no longer how I wanted approach the start of this year.

If you like making resolutions, and it works for you, then go for it. I’ve just realized that it’s not for me. So, I’m not going to do it. And I already feel better about the start of the year!

Getting Committed

Every year we are encouraged, and maybe even motivated, to make some changes in the new year. There is something almost mystical and the process of preparing to finish one year of our lives and begin another one. Many of us make resolutions about areas of our lives we want to improve or change. I am no different. I am just wondering if I will follow through on those things I want to see happen.

There are some things I would like to change this next year. However, I am afraid of falling into the same old traps of these kinds of resolutions. If I am being honest, I am not really all that resolute when I write these wants and desires down. I almost feel obligated to do something because that is what you are supposed to do at the start of the year. Right?

It may be the word itself, I am not sure. How many people really know what it means to resolve to do something? And even though I feel pretty sure I do, these resolutions are more reminders of what is wrong with my life and what I failed to do in the past year. I do not want to make resolutions about this year about things I half-heartedly wanted to do anyway. I guess I am just tired of doing things because I can’t think of anything else to do.

That’s why I have decided to make New Year’s commitments. I want to do somethings this year that I know I can do and I want to do. This list of commitments is rather short, mainly because I am lazy, but more importantly because it is not about trying to impress anybody. I want to commit to these things because I feel strongly about doing them.

So, what are my commitments? I want to read more, write more, play more and love more.

I want to read more. There are some books that have been gathering dust for far too long on my shelves. I love books, but I am not the best at reading the books I get. I want to change that.

I want to write more. There are a few subjects that I really enjoy thinking about and would like to put them down. I may or may not blow anybody away with what I write, but it is a discipline I want to develop.

I want to play my guitar more. I pick up the guitar seven years ago. I am okay. I can play songs and figure somethings out, but I want to become more proficient. I am not trying to be famous, I just want to be better.

I want to love more. I have a great family. A beautiful wife who loves me and puts up with my craziness. And two great girls who love me better than I deserve. I want to be more intentional about making memories with them. I will have to enlist some help with these, but that is part of the journey.

What are some of your commitments for this year?