A New Pencil and Notebook

WHEN I WAS A KID, I always liked to get a brand-new pencil, sharpen it to a perfect point, and sit down with a fresh new notebook. Somehow that pristine pencil and
paper presented so many possibilities. A new year feels like this to me too—a fresh beginning.

I remember sitting down at the start of one new yearand praying, “Lord, I want this whole year to make a difference for You.” But the problem with that prayer is that I never experience the whole year in one instance. Every year comes in 365 days, each of which has 24 hours or 1,440 minutes. Unless I make those individual days and hours count for God, when December rolls around again, nothing will have changed.

Maybe one never gets to the place of total 24-hoursa-day commitment to God’s will. My experience is that commitment only comes in moment-sized acts of obedience. I find no problem, personally, in committing the whole year to God—or my whole life, for that matter. It’s the moments that give me trouble—the little decisions about the use of my time, money and energy. The question is, “What does God want me to do right now?” Am I willing to do it?

Lord, beginning today, help me to look at each moment as important to You. Your Word says, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do” (Proverbs 16:3). Help me to care more about what You want than what I want. Thank You for the “new pencil and new notebook”—a fresh start.