New Year, Same God

I gave up on politics last year. Yes, I major in politics, I engage in political discourse and I write in a weekly column designed for politics, but I gave up on politics.  

 I found myself worn out. I felt bogged down by all the negativity that seems to pollute the political world. I like to think of myself as a happy person, but for weeks on end I felt happiness leaving me and insecurities growing.  

 I grew insecure about my beliefs. I grew insecure about whether I could be a woman in politics. I grew insecure in myself, and I grew insecure in what God had planned for my life.  

 I’m tired of being insecure.  

 I have never been a firm believer in New Year’s resolutions. I personally don’t think they ever stick. Have you ever been to a gym in January and then gone to the same gym in February? If you have, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  

 Instead of New Year’s resolutions, I create New Year’s goals. Like a bucket list, I create a list of things I want to experience or work on in the new year. Typically, they all revolve around a “word of the year” – a word I focus on incorporating into my everyday life.  

 Last year, my word was “health.” After my first semester at Liberty, I realized I had a lot of unhealthy relationships in my life. I’m not just talking about people. My relationship with food was unhealthy. My relationship with God was unhealthy. My relationship with politics was unhealthy.  

 So, I set out on a journey to become healthier in mind, body and spirit.  

 This was an incredible journey for me. It revealed to me so much I didn’t know and about myself and about God. So, this year, I want to take it a step further.  

 My word for 2022 is “confidence.”  

 When I was praying about what I needed to spend some extra time focusing on, I felt the Lord nudging me. Whispering in my ear I could hear, “work on your confidence.” What does this mean? 

How does someone gain confidence? In what areas do I need to gain confidence? These questions and so many others began to fill my head. Before you can answer them you must first answer, where does my confidence come from? 

Confidence does not come from materialistic rewards – losing weight, wearing all the “in” trends and getting your crush to like you back. These may make you feel good, but confidence is more than just feeling good.  

Our confidence can only come from one place: God. Why would we ever turn to creation to give us our worth and identity when we can go directly to the Creator? Confidence in who He is and what His Word says to be true will fuel our lives with the confidence we need. 

 Confidence is knowing.  

 It’s knowing I am more precious than rubies (Proverbs 3:15), it’s knowing there is a plan for my life (Jeremiah 29:11), it’s knowing I was loved before I was born (Psalm 139:16) and it’s knowing that there is nothing I can do that will separate me from Christ’s love (Romans 8:38-39).  

 I know these things to be true, and in 2022 I want to live them out. I don’t want to be insecure because I hold certain political beliefs – I want to live them out confidently. I don’t want to be insecure that I’m a Christian – I want to live it
out confidently.  

 I’m not going to say new year, new me – I’ll avoid that cliché. So, instead I’ll say new year, same God because nothing provides more comfort than knowing I serve a God who is the same last year, will be the same next year and loves me more than I’m capable of understanding. That is where my confidence is going to come from. 

mackenzie is the opinion editor. Follow her on Twitter