No Man’s Land?
“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” ~Psalm 9:1-2
Is it just me, or is the stint between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve really bizarre? It’s a sort of obscure “no man’s land” sandwiched between the embers of Yuletide festivities and the momentous greeting of a fresh year. But really, if we wanted it to be, it could be a pivotal time, couldn’t it?
A time to reflect. You’ve heard a powerful sermon or watched a profound movie, when afterwards you just want to sit and savor. Perhaps this window in which we now find ourselves is a time to sit and savor. A time to pause and reflect on the multitude of temporal and spiritual mercies God has poured upon us this last year – most of which we take for granted at the time. A time to let permeate how our Lord has been so faithful even during those times we were faithless. A time to cherish how – just as He promised – His grace was sufficient during those days when it was hard to go on. A time to marvel at God’s patience, longsuffering, kindness, mercy, and love.
It’s biblical to stop and recount the Lord’s blessings (Ps. 9:1-2). It’s biblical to take stock, and then take a moment to outwardly mark the Lord’s faithfulness. I think of the last judge, Samuel, who took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen. He named the stone Ebenezer (eben means stone, ezer means help), for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us” (1 Sam. 7:12). Perhaps this no man’s land is the perfect window to say with the hymnist, “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I’m come” – a time to pause and outwardly mark how faithful and good the Lord has been to you.
Let me encourage you to utilize some time to reflect and “Count your many blessings, name them one by one; count your many blessings, see what God hath done.” With your spouse, children, or even just by yourself, perhaps write down what the Lord has done for you in Christ. And give thanks.
A time to plan ahead. As one man famously said, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” As another year beckons, maybe this no man’s land is also the time to set out our strategic goals for the year ahead. Men, how will we be better spiritual leaders to our wives and children? Spouses, how can we better nurture our marriages? How can we lean in at Christ Covenant? How can we better steward our bodies, finances, work-life balance, time, gifts, etc.? How can we better serve others and better utilize our homes to the glory of God? Who in our lives should we make more time for? What can we do for the kingdom of Christ? Again, it might be a good idea to utilize no man’s land by thinking and talking through your objectives for 2025, and even writing them down.
But one thing I really want to underline as we step onto the porch of another year: prioritize Jesus Christ. All of the aforementioned goals are pie in the sky unless we abide in Christ: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).
And of course, Jesus isn’t just a means to meeting our goals. We don’t abide in Christ so that we can be more profitable. No, Jesus is the goal. I plead with you, more than anything else this coming year, make walking with Christ your raison d’etre. “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8). More on that, Lord willing, this coming Sunday morning. But for now, let’s devote 2025 to knowing and prizing Christ.
Rev. Rob Dykes, Pastor of Preaching & Congregational Care