Trend Setters

Another thing about NEW, is that it’s only new to us. The great comfort of the unknown, unheard-of, and unprecedented, is that God is never surprised. The amazingness of Advent is that God is the thread that connects us all in time. He is Alpha and Omega, we learn, the beginning and the end. He is the source and from him comes every good and perfect gift.

A trendsetter is one that takes the lead or sets an example — also known as a leader, pacesetter, and forerunner. The opposite of a trendsetter is a follower or imitator. But get this — as disciples and sons of God, we get to be both! We are led by Holy Spirit and imitate Jesus.

Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,”
whether to the right or to the left.

Isaiah 30:21 NLT

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.

Romans 8:14 NET

So, how do we follow, lead, and encounter New? The simple answer (because you know, we like easy) is with God. That’s it. As we retrain our minds to receive and process New, this is to remind us that God has spoken. Before time, into time, and we stay catching up to His life-giving, light-giving word.

What does this look like? Following, leading, and meeting New? It looks like fellowship with God, keeping the conversation going through prayer, meditation, praise, worship, and service. It looks like remembering that when we encounter New, the unknown to us is known to God. It looks like staying connected to God, even when our feelings tell us he is nowhere close or that he is ignoring us. It looks like sticking to the path with pivot flexibility.

We are not alone. We have not been left alone. He is Immanuel, God with us. He is kind and his love for us is constant. We are complete in Christ. We are in possession of answered prayers beyond what we can ask for or imagine. We have help, divine help, through Holy Spirit. We are not lost, though we can feel like it sometimes.

Most importantly, we have a word from God. Life happens and we can forget, but the word stands forever. God’s word, his promise, is stable and for us to hold on to with and for our lives. The word keeps speaking and helps us to focus and refocus on the tasks at hand, over and over again. Trendsetting is in our DNA. If we let Holy Spirit guide us, if we follow Jesus’ example, then we can advance his Kingdom on earth. We are the movers of a movement, not for us but for the Kingdom of God. My prayer is that when the holidays give way to daily life again, we purpose to stay in remembrance of New and choose to be the trendsetters he’s called us to be.

---

Dr. Shaunta Scroggins is the founder of The Bereans’ Commentary.