Christmas has come and gone and, while I love celebrating Jesus’ birthday (it is the most wonderful time of the year), I’m fairly happy to have over 360 days till next Christmas. But now we have New Years. I love welcoming in the new year, but can I just say that people – in general – lose their ever-lovin’ minds? Bless it, I’m not sure how many gym memberships will last past the free trial, how many calorie-counting, keto-eating diets will be broken by the end of February (if they get that far), and how thick the dust will be on those darn bathroom scales come this time next year. Resolutions can be a bit ridiculous.
I may say that, but not all resolutions get my lip curling up in disgust. I think it may be that everyone is not only making resolutions (that will most likely not be followed through with), but everyone is expected to make a resolution (or several). Perhaps it’s the rebel in me, but I don’t want to do what everyone else is doing just because everyone else is doing it. I would rather make a resolution out of sincerity instead of feeling like I need to jump on the bandwagon.
Mind you, this rebel part of me doesn’t always serve me well. I can’t even apply it to every area of my life. What actually irritates me is not that we make resolutions, but that we always fail. I hate failing, but I typically fail. We all do. Every time I vow to be better at something, do better at something, or live a bit differently in an effort to improve myself, I always fail in some form or fashion. I may have a successful marriage, but there are ways in which I fail my husband almost every single day. That may come in the form of a show (or thought) of selfishness. I usually do want the bigger piece of chocolate cake, and sometimes I make sure I get it. Talk about failing!
After showing my true colors – happens from time to time – I tend to beat myself up, beg for forgiveness, and vow to do better in the future. Resolutions! Even sincere resolutions, though, often end in utter failure. We may have the right heart in our resolutions, but we’re doomed to fail. Does that mean we should never try to be better, do better, or merely take small steps to improve? Absolutely not!
If you’ve ever been to church, then you’ve probably heard mention of a Bible reading guide. If not the guide, you’ve at least heard your pastor mention the importance of being in the Word. I’ve gotten inspired to read the Bible all the way through in a year… and every year I’ve failed. I may resolve to do it… and then I break the resolution. I still want to do it, even if just to prove to myself that I can. (Psst! There are links to some downloadable Bible reading guides at the end of this post.)
I like to throw on some worship music or a sermon when I’m cooking, cleaning, or folding laundry (there’s always laundry), and I heard a few words of scripture that caught me just the right way. It amazes me that I can read a few verses and it’s just… so… but then I’ll read them again they’ll hit a bit differently. That just means that even if I previously kept my resolution to read the whole Bible in a year, the next time I’ll get something a bit different out of the same passages. This was one of those passages of scripture that jumped out at me… differently.
Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive. For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.” Isaiah 52:2-3 (NIV)
Shake. Off. Your. Dust. This spoke to me in a way I had never heard it before. Shake off your dust. The Bible tells us that man was formed from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7) and that he will return to the dust of the earth (Genesis 3:19). I used to joke that the Bible stated that men were but dust, but with 2 T’s. Get it? Butt dust? Yeah, my jokes are often lame. Back on topic – the word dust was not a word that spoke of positive things.
Dust, in the Bible, often stood for something negative: mourning, humiliation, lowliness, degradation, lack, and loss (along with pretty much everything else negative – including failings). There are several popular passages in the Bible regarding dust. In Acts 13:51, Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet as a symbol that they were done trying with the people of that place. Another passage in the same book, Acts 18:6, Paul shakes the dust off his clothes as an example of ridding himself of the responsibility of preaching the gospel to some hard-hearted Jews of that area. Jesus also instructed his disciples to shake the dust of a home or a town off their feet if their message was not received (Matthew 10:14). Dust was not good.
Shake off your dust. This is not a resolution I want to make and then fall flat on my face in failure, but it is something I want to have in my head whenever I start in on myself. When I start berating myself, condemning myself, or simply beating myself up, I want to have these words on rerun in my mind: SHAKE OFF YOUR DUST.
I may know it and I may write it (for your reading pleasure), but I often struggle with standing tall as a child of God (and all that entails). I am a child and heir of God (Galatians 3:26, Romans 8:14-17)! I am the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus (II Corinthians 5:21)! I am blessed beyond measure (Ephesians 3:16-20)!
If I didn’t have so much dust…But why is it that we have so much dust clouding our view of who we are and whose we are? All too often we listen to the world. It’s that plain and simple. We see pictures of how the world says we should look, we see the success of others in our peer group and can often feel like failures in comparison, and we may feel as though we’re less than worthy based on the knowledge of our own failures. SHAKE OFF YOUR DUST!
My goal, my resolution, for this year is to grow in knowledge of who I am and Who I belong to – to shake off my dust – get rid of all the negative thoughts I often think towards myself. Only then can I rise. Only then can my actions match my identity – if I’m a co-heir with Christ then I should act like it, right? I am not a captive. I was redeemed a long time ago. It’s time for me to act like it. It’s time to shake off some dust.
Let’s enter into this new year with a resolution regarding our identity. We may struggle at times, but that’s why it’s so fantastic that we were redeemed. We were sold for nothing and redeemed without money. We were redeemed with something much more precious – we were redeemed with blood. Now go and shake off your dust!
Here are a few Bible reading plans – not all are the same. Some are broken down by the days of the week, the days of the month, by style, etc. If you miss a day, don’t give up! If you miss a month, don’t give up! Dusting is a constant chore – shake off your dust!