Each New Year we usually say “Good-bye!” to the previous year with a “Good riddance!” Every year has its challenges, but after a few more years go by, we tend to remember only the good things. One thing we can surely rejoice in is that the Lord chooses to forget all of our confessed sin and only remembers the good we have done. If we are going to be one with Him, we too will have to forget our sins and our failures, and only remember the good things.

         This is not a delusion, nor is it that we do not want to learn from our mistakes. We remember the good because we are not called to be failure-oriented people. We are called to go “from glory to glory” (see II Corinthians 3:18). If we are seeing with the eyes of faith, we will look back and see nothing but glory.

         Now might be a good time to list the ten best things that happened to you in 2014 and thank the Lord for them. As you do this, you will likely find far more than ten. In fact, if we are truly walking in the light, we will find it hard to ever end the list because there is so much to be thankful for. This can really help us enter 2015, because we enter the Lord’s gates with thanksgiving.

         2015 is supposed to be the best year of your life to date. Every year is supposed to be better than the last. Proverbs 4:18 says, “But the path of the righteous is like the light of the dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” This means that if we are on the right path, then our lives should be getting continually brighter. If this is not the case, we need to go back to where we missed the turn and get back on the right path.

         This does not mean that our coming year will be without challenges, and maybe even greater ones than we’ve had before. If so, then it is an opportunity to see bigger victories than we’ve had before, because He always “leads us in triumph in Christ” (see II Corinthians 2:14) and “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (see Romans 8:8). This is the Word of God that cannot fail, so how can we not move forward into the future with faith and expectation?

         It could also be helpful to go back and count your greatest challenges of 2014, noting how they have worked out. Some of them may still be in the works, but one thing is sure, if we have approached the challenges in the right way, we have been changed by them; and according to James, that is more valuable to us than gold or silver. God is far more concerned about what we’ve become than what we’ve done. How were you changed in 2014?

         As another year ticks off toward the end of this age, we are one year closer to some of the greatest events in human history—the harvest that is the end of the age and the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to the whole world. How are you going to be a part of preparing the way for the Lord in these? You have a part to play or you would not be here.

          With all that may be going on in our personal lives, let us keep in mind that by seeking first the kingdom, the Lord promises to take care of the things that concern us. This year, let us resolve to seek Him and His kingdom more than we ever have before, and it will be our greatest year yet.