Beginning the Year With Open Hands

Like so many others, the beginning of a new year brings a time of assessment and renewed focus—especially in my walk with Christ. During this season, I find myself particularly sensitive to how the Holy Spirit speaks and gently reveals areas I need to consider and address. Sometimes that prompting comes through a worship song, a passage of Scripture, or a message preached.

On the last Sunday of December, a guest preacher taught from Colossians 2. Paul was encouraging the church in Colossae to be unified in love and to grow in wisdom and understanding of God. He also warned them not to be deceived by the false teachings that were circulating at the time.

Paul writes:

So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude. Colossians 2:7

Paul reminds us that we recognize false teaching by being rooted, built up, and established in Christ. This kind of grounding leads us to gratitude—but it can also gently expose areas of our lives that we have not yet fully surrendered in faith to Jesus.

I’ve spent the last couple of years working on surrendering one particular area of my life. While I’ve made progress, it still surfaces from time to time. My desire is to surrender it completely, so that when my mind drifts there, I can counter it with truth.

During the message, our preacher said that faith is the act of submitting and trusting God because He has given us every reason to do so. When I consider all the times He has proven faithful in the past, I’m reminded again why He is worthy of my trust.

Perhaps you, too, are carrying something the Lord has been asking you to release—to surrender fully to Him in this new year. If you stumble along the way, don’t give up or assume it can’t be done. Release it once more. Ask the Lord to strengthen you in this area of faith, and allow His love and forgiveness to wash over you again.

Surrender is often a daily choice—but it is always met with grace.

Banner photo by Milada Vigerova on Unsplash