Back To One.

2011 is finally here. A brand new decade has officially begun. And like many of you reading this devotional today, I am extremely excited to discover all that God desires to do in this new year.

For the first time that I can remember, I decided to do something a little different to begin this year. Something that seemed a bit odd at first, but in my opinion, very necessary. For 2011, I decided to NOT make or write down any new year resolutions.

No more new goals to lose weight.
No more new goals of gaining a better education.
And believe it or not, no more new goals to earn more money.
(Although my wife and kids would probably have a slight problem with that last one.)

While each of the above resolutions are indeed important, and remain praiseworthy for each of us to strive towards, for some strange reason, my mind entering 2011 was not interested in NEW things. This year, I am determined to become fixated on something OLD.

In Jeremiah 6:16, we find these words: “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the OLD paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls…”

Was it not just a thing of pure beauty how this new year began? The first day of this year, January 1, 2011, when abbreviated to just numbers, was in fact 1.1.11.

All ones.

Now while I am a strong believer in the spiritual significance of numbers, there are indeed times when the variations of our annual church themes and proclamations can make God sound a bit schizoid to the ears of the unbeliever. So I won’t even try to assume that I can place some kind of prophetic label on what God desires to do throughout this new year.

But here are just a few observations about the number ONE:

The number ONE is one that denotes primacy above all other numbers.
It is always FIRST.
And it is all by itself WHOLE.

In a culture that often drives us to make our list of tasks longer, our number of possessions greater, and our circle of friends (both online and offline) larger, it is very difficult for us as believers today to truly understand and appreciate the value of ONE. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the number ONE often requires for us to subtract some things, not add.

Sometimes I wonder if our hearts of excitement about each new year often become havens of discontentment by the end of each passing year because of our desire to seek NEW expectations of GOD without considering some of His PREVIOUS expectations from us.

For example:

What is that ONE THING God has been asking you to do for several years now, that you have yet to follow through on? Who is that ONE PERSON you know God has repeatedly instructed you let go of, but you refuse to because of your fear of being all alone? What good will it be for God to grant you a NEW job or income this year, if you refuse to change some of those OLD spending habits He has warned you about time and time again?

Perhaps for many of us, the success of this new year is no longer predicated on something NEW, but in fact, something OLD. A path we have continued to shy away from, but if we dare to walk in, can unlock the very rest we have been searching for our whole lives..

This new year, while millions aim relentlessly to pursue NEW resolutions, I’d like to challenge you to return to an OLD one. In fact, it’s the very first resolution God had ever commanded for us to observe:

“To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your mind and strength.” – Deuteronomy 6:5

This year, let’s get back to ONE.