The Dawn of a New Time - reprint from Jan 1, 2000

Today is the dawn of a new time in the history of man and of the earth - a new year, a new century and a new millennium. No doubt many will give in to the annual human tendency to reflect on the past and contemplate the future on this New Year’s Day. Notwithstanding the hype that surrounds the new millennium, self-evaluation and analysis is good, providing it motivates us to change.

Some may have celebrated and partied to ring in this new millennium, but today we must all face the stark realities of life. For many, that reality may be so bleak that there is no cause for celebration. Indeed, unless we determine to make a change and follow a proven pattern for success, our yesterdays will roll into today and into tomorrow with no distinctive difference save the writing of 2000 instead of 1999.

Thousands of years ago it was also the dawn of a new time. At the outset, the environment looked totally bleak. When God surveyed the earth before Creation, it was empty, without any form and covered in total darkness (Genesis 1:2). There was nothing celebrating or reflecting the creativity and greatness of God. The earth was like a wasteland. But when God was finished with the wasteland, it was nothing like it was before. Everything had changed and the new was much better than the old (Genesis 1:31).

Today, many may feel like they are in a personal wasteland, where their lives fail to accurately reflect their true God-given potential. In order to change our wasteland into an Eden, we must resolve to bring shape, structure and light to our life, just as God did to the earth in Genesis.

The first necessary element is the presence of the Spirit of God which hovered over the waters before Creation (Genesis 1:2). In the midst of the chaos, disorder, and emptiness of life, God is actually present. In every wilderness experience, he is there. Wherever circumstances appear less than ideal, dissatisfying, frustrating or inadequate, the Spirit of God hovers in the background waiting for us to wake up, enlist his help and begin to create the environment we desire.

It is the Spirit of God who enables us to envision a future in alignment with God’s plan and to fulfill our destiny. Without him, we may seek to create and attain a future that has the appearance of fulfillment, but disappoints us in the end.

Creating light and eliminating darkness must be the first goal, just as God created light first. Darkness prevents clear sight of the way ahead and of the creative possibilities. Obstacles in the dark become opportunities with the right perspective and vision.

With the powerful combination of creative words and creative action, the future can take on a shape much different to the present.

Creating a better future is not a haphazard act. There was order, prioritization and structure to the Creation in Genesis. We are not told the details of God’s planning process, but the complexity of the universe and of life could not have occurred as a casual act. Similarly, if we desire a future better than our present, we need to proceed with a well-thought out, strategic and intelligent plan.

This year, after analyzing our lives, we can make the same superficial resolutions to end habits and change behaviors. Or, we can access the Creator and Catalyst who existed from the beginning of all time and begin to create fundamental changes to the form and structure of our lives.

Resolutions are forgotten within months. The creative changes that God inspires last for lifetimes and millenniums.