As the year draws to a close, the question usually is “how can I make the next year better?” Well, first and foremost in our endeavor to bring closure to the old year and begin the new year right, is to make sure that every area of your life – gifts, talents, work, family, everything – is dedicated to God. If we dedicate everything to God for His purposes, then it is guaranteed that everything will turn out for good. We want God to convert all that we give Him for His good. For instance, He can redeem a mistake into a miracle, or a trial into a triumph!

Author Ralph Waldo Emerson gave excellent advice about trials. In a letter about a past mistake, his daughter made it clear she was terribly troubled and was left with a guilty conscience. He wrote back, “My dear daughter, finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Surely some blunders and absurdities have no doubt crept in, but get rid of them! Forget them as soon as you can because tomorrow is a new day. And you should never encumber its potentialities and its invitation with the dread of the past. Get on the solution side of each problem as quickly as you can for you should not waste a moment of today on the rottenness of yesterday.”

“As is your day, so shall your strength be” (Deu. 33:25)

Thus today is yours. Invest and steward it wisely and He promises you enough strength for today. If you and I carried more loads than we’re designed to carry, we would indeed collapse under the weight. God designed us to carry only one load at a time:

“Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble for itself.” (Matt. 6:34)

When we do so, only handling today’s concerns as God asked, then we can rest assured that God will make everything work out:

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them” (Rom. 8:28 NLT)

The alchemy of God’s ability takes what is junk and turns it into something wonderful, something that can then be used for good in your life. Grudges, offenses, and hurts will turn into resentment if you hang on to them. Thus replaying the memory of past hurts and mistakes will cut again and again and in time destroys you from the inside. Here’s a good guideline, a deadline for dealing with trials: “Don’t even let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph. 4:26). Bottom line: Let your trials go as you choose to dedicate everything to be used for God’s purposes.

Here’s one of the best secrets in life: Give daily to God the things of your past. Then He can put it into His divine recycling program and transform it to be used for His purposes. And here is a good starting point in dealing with your trials:

START BY FORGIVING THOSE WHO DON’T REQUEST IT.

Forgive, even if the offender doesn’t ask for it or deserve it. That doesn’t matter. Forgiveness is a gift for you because it sets you free from that mistake.

Sometimes our issues seem like tangled up fishing line that you just can’t untangle–years of unforgiveness and circumstances all balled into a confusing mass. You don’t know who’s at fault, but nevertheless you find yourself in a mess. Well, here’s a neat point from the Old Testament: They had many different sacrifices for sin and there was one in Hebrew called azazel. The equivalent word we have is scapegoat. Though it’s been brought into our current nomenclature as something negative, it was an acceptable sacrifice to God. In those times, when they couldn’t figure out how to resolve a problem, the people would bring a goat to the priest. The priest would then lay hands on this goat and remit both parties’ sins onto the goat. Next the parties involved confessed and the priest then released the goat into the wilderness. They would say, “azazel” meaning they mutually agreed it was resolved. Thus the sins were removed.

“The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert”
(Lev. 16:22).

We have much to learn from this sacrifice in allowing trials to be something you release. If you need to, then allow for “azazel,” for it is indeed an acceptable sacrifice. Let the issues go and start fresh this new year.