What’s the definition of an optimist? 

Optimist: A person who thought January 1, 2021 would mean the challenges of 2020 would be over. 

Sorry. Flipping the calendar over or hanging a new one on the wall doesn’t dramatically change things. But the new year can be different and filled with optimism. 

My friend Dr. Jim Denison says we Christians should always be looking into the future with an optimistic sense of hope.

“Christians have better cause for optimism. God’s word describes our faith as ‘the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen’ (Hebrews 11:1). According to Scripture, our hope is based not on our attitude but on God’s actions and character. We are people of ‘radical optimism’ because of our radical faith in a God whose love and power give us rock-solid reasons for hope.”

Look around you. See the ways God is working…in you, in your family, in your country and your culture. The pandemic of 2020 drove people to media like never before in history. Millions of lives have been changed for all eternity and many millions more are looking and seeking for hope. We who are using these media platforms and tools are seeing God at work like never before. That won’t end in 2021 if we continue to utilize these God-given technologies to tell the timeless story of God’s love for the world.

Throughout the ages great Christian leaders have helped us face new years with more than human optimism and hope. These great men and women have pointed us to the Lord and His promises rather than just looking at the events and circumstances of our day. 

“…the object of a new year is not that we should have a new year, but rather that we should have a new soul.”

– G. K. Chesterson

“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.”

– Helen Keller

“If we build our lives on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ’s eternity-shaping redemptive work, we can be optimists. Why? Because even our most painful experience is but a temporary setback. Our pain and suffering may or may not be relieved in this life, but they will certainly be relieved in the next.”

      – Randy Alcorn

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

– Jeremiah 29:11

What can you and I do to make 2021 a year to remember…for all the right reasons? (We will certainly remember 2020, but not always with fondness.) Here are some suggestions.

1. Seek God’s plans for you, your family, and your ministry.

Remember Solomon’s wisdom and use it as a guide.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT

2. Remember that you have God’s full resources to do His will. He has promised to be with you.

In fact, it is the hope of Christ in us that brings us the hope of glory. And we have access to God’s full power to live the life He has for us. Listen to the Apostle Paul’s powerful words.

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Romans 8:11 NLT

And Paul had this word for his young friend Timothy.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work….

 1 Timothy 1:12 NLT

3. Take responsibility for your past…but don’t dwell there.

We need to accept responsibility for our past mistakes and deviations from the Lord’s will. But we need to move on from there. If God chooses to forget our past, we can also live in a way that accepts His forgiveness and uses that to strengthen us for His future. That’s called God’s grace. I especially like this passage Paul wrote to the Christ-followers in Thessalonica. 

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. 

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NLT

4. Taking a cue from Paul, list all the good things your faith prompts you to do.

These can be your priorities in the coming year. And you can have the assurance that the Lord will be with you as you strive toward that mark, God’s high calling.

5. Finally, be focused on others more than yourself.

What would the Lord place as a priority for the new year? Well, we don’t have to wonder too much. Christ’s parting words give us a sense of what the Lord would put on our agenda.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:19-20 NLT

Share the hope of Christ with those around you and be sure to disciple those whom God has called into His kingdom. Focus on others. You will be amazed at how much you will grow in the process.

May the New Year be filled with all the Lord has for you in life and ministry. And as we come to the close of 2021, may we be able to sing,

To God be the glory!

Great things He has done.

God’s best…

P.S. Over the next three weeks our MEDIAlliance Vice President for Communication Kyle Gilbert will be providing thoughts for the Monday MEMO. He is a great blessing and a gift from God to our work.