I marvel at how we like to tag each New Year with some kind of perspective phrase. Usually it rhymes with the last number in that particular year. I have done it myself. Nothing wrong with using the New Year for fresh starts, renewed determinations, or setting ourselves into life giving perspectives that will enable us to be fruitful and victorious in our use of the year. And certainly the Holy Spirit can declare things that will help us focus our prayer life, expectations and faith level. But somehow I can’t get behind it this year. Like you, I have already heard many things about 2008. I also heard many things about 2007, 2006, 2005 and so on. Now it is my observation that tend to abandon last year’s perspective phrase and take on the new one, whether it has been fulfilled or not. And it got me to thinking. Does God work in these yearly segments as much as we ascribed them to be. I am considering that God is far more likely to be working in seasons that span years, fit within years, overlap years, start and finish outside of the constructs of our yearly life view. I am hard put to find much evidence that supports this yearly event of tagging each year with so many new trendy “insights”. Rather, I find that the Bible supports times and seasons, starts and finishes events and life changes at a variety of times throughout the years of our lives of our churches and ministries.

For example, we could say that we are in a season of alignment. It didn’t start when the ball fell in Times Square in 2007 and it didn’t end when we saw the fireworks of New Year’s Eve herald 2008. For some of us it is still taking place. For others of us, we are already seeing the effects of alignment release us to greater fruitfulness than we have ever had before. It is a good example of how the years don’t signal the end and beginnings of God’s seasons in our life as much as we may think.

So this year I have given up the tag endeavors, and choose to embrace the times and seasons that have and are being revealed by the Holy Spirit. No cute rhymes, no clever mottos, no classy labels. Partly because I am tired of watching the yearly declarations fade away to the next years declarations without many of them being truly established within that time frame. Why should we continue to habitually do this? Stop and think. Let’s line ourselves up with times and seasons that are more accurate in God’s sight, rather than artificial time segments that are right in our sight. Let’s track changes through God beginnings and God endings in our lives, keeping in mind that His work in us is progressing and continual. When the Lord has fulfilled what He has promised it is not likely to fit within our neat little yearly packages.