Revelation Within On the Go!

Walking in Freedom Before the New Year Begins

• Heidi Bylsma-Epperson and Christina Motley • Season 2 • Episode 52

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We ask a simple but searching question: is a date on the calendar quietly running your spiritual life? Together, we talk about the common habit of waiting for January 1st—or Monday, or the “right time”—to finally change, and how that delay slowly erodes peace, fuels numbing behaviors, and keeps us distant from God. We explore the hidden costs of postponement during the holidays: overeating that dulls awareness, scrolling that steals presence, spending that numbs grief, and the pressure that crashes down when the new year arrives. Anchored in Romans 12:2, Proverbs 3:5–6, and Psalm 95, we re-frame change as daily mind renewal and trust, not a performance-driven reset. Along the way, we share honest stories of striving, fear of failure, and the relief that comes when we let go of perfectionism and return to a daily walk with God.

At the heart of the episode is Look and Learn, a simple two-part rhythm for resilient growth. First, we look with God at what actually happened—without judgment—asking questions like: Was I tired? Triggered? Believing something untrue? Then we learn by naming truth we can hold onto now and considering how we might respond differently next time. This practice turns setbacks into growth points and reminds us that every moment is an invitation to begin again. We close by remembering that the gospel calls us to reliance, not resolutions, and that Philippians 1:6 assures us God Himself is faithfully carrying the process forward. If you’re tired of waiting for the perfect start, we invite you to take one surrendered step today.

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SPEAKER_02:

Hi, and welcome to Revelation Within on the Go. I'm Heidi Files McEpherson, one of your hosts, and the chief cook and bottle washer at RevelationWithin.org.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm Christina Motley, your other host, also Revelation Within coach, and I've been known to watch a few bottles myself. I'm Heidi's partner in all things Revelation Within, and we are so happy to invite you to join us for this episode of Revelation Within. We're so glad you're here. Um, today's episode might step on a few toes, including ours. Oh no. Good thing I put shoes on.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, you better get shoes on. We're talking about irony and even the danger of waiting for January 1st, as though it's some magical date to start something meaningful, especially when it comes to our walks with God, our eating, how we care for our bodies, mind renewal, and more. We really want to hit this. Yeah, we want to look at this carefully. We do, we definitely do. So let's start with something just really honest. How many of us have said, I'll start fresh January 1st? Especially we say that in November and December, right? But what happens when we say that? I mean, it sounds so noble and so godly and good and right.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it does. And it kind of sounds like, okay, you know what? This I'm just gonna make this easy on myself. I'm gonna give myself permission to just plunge into the excess, to overdo, to tune out God's voice. Well, that none of that does sound easy, really. No, I'm gonna do that. No, but on the one hand, it almost does. I mean, this is how I used to feel for years, because it's like, I'm just gonna set this aside. I'm gonna put this off, I'm gonna move it over, I'm gonna pull the rug over my issues, um, and I'm gonna just be ready to go in January. I'm gonna be ready. But I mean, really, after all, we're about to clean things up soon. So it's like it's coming and I'll be fine. On the one hand, it sounds, it sounds kind of good. On the other hand, it it sounds awful.

SPEAKER_02:

It sounds a little scary to me. I mean, I've had seasons of my life where I'm like, God, talk to the tail. Okay, I've got to admit that. But yes, we all have. Yeah. You know, we've said it ourselves. I'm gonna start again January 1st, or I'm gonna do this and this and this all noble and good January 1st. And we get it because we we've done it too. We get it. Yes, there's a lie underneath it, and that I mean, we want to be aware where our thoughts don't align with God's thoughts. He's good and he's loving and all of that. So if my mind and my thoughts are not aligning with his, I'm missing something I don't want to miss. And the life is underneath that I'm gonna start on January 1st is obedience can wait. Or yeah, ouch, ouch, right? There's the toad. Or even my transformation will begin when I say it begins.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, it's so um yikes. It's like when you said that, I'm thinking, yeah, but no, that's yeah, no, we don't want to go there. We really don't. And yet, scripture doesn't describe transformation that way. You know, Romans 12, 2 says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Why would we want to push that away? Why would we want to put that off? That's exactly what we're longing for. This kind of this push-pull thing. I mean, I did it for so many years. It's like, okay, God, you know, fix this, fix this, fix me, help me. Okay, let's do it later. It's just way too much. I got all these presents to wrap, I got all this stuff going on. You know, and it's just like this push-pull, it's a conflict. It was a conflict within me for years. Definitely.

SPEAKER_02:

I just want to circle back to Romans 12, too, where it says, do not conform to the pattern of this world. And this time of year, there's a lot of patterns in this world that's called to not conform to. I mean, what's more conforming to the world than waiting for January 1st to finally do something hard? You know? I mean, really, let's be honest. That's the calendar the world has chosen. But God invites us to be transformed today. Today, right now, right now, right now, right now. That's good news. Isn't that good news? I don't need to wait. I don't need to wait, and I don't want to wait.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it is good news, and I love that he invites us constantly. He's inviting us into his own heart with what we're dealing with. I think sometimes we think, well, if I go to God, or I think this way sometimes, if I go to God, it's just gonna be so hard. You know, he's gonna like bring up all these huge issues in me. And I'm just, I don't have time, you know. Uh that's why I want to postpone that kind of thing. And God says, No, I'm full of compassion. I love you. I want to walk with you exactly where you're at. I won't overwhelm you. So when we say I'll start over January 1st, I mean it sounds so wise. It sounds clean and structured. It's like, I have got I've got a plan. What it can become is an excuse to delay surrender. And actually, when we're delaying surrender, we're choosing a whole bunch of awful stuff. You know, we're choosing not to feel peace, we're choosing to be dependent on ourselves, we're choosing to make it all about us, we're choosing to be exhausted, basically.

SPEAKER_02:

Wait a minute, you're telling me and the whole world that's listening that these things, these negative things are going to happen or are happening if I choose to wait until January 1st to change.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, it's true. I mean, I've actually been talking with God a lot this week because I've been dealing with some stressful situations and some fears. And I've been talking with him about that because I've kind of been wanting to say, can we deal with this later? This is like too hard right now. But what he's saying to me is dealing with it now with me, you're gonna love it. You're gonna love it. It's gonna bring peace, it's gonna bring joy, it's gonna bring life to you. But the world says, no, it won't. The world says the opposite, you know?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, and there is really an irony to this whole idea of us waiting until January 1st. We end up doing more damage in the waiting, like you've been talking about, not just physically either. I mean, yeah, if I say I'm just gonna enjoy all the foods that come out at holiday time, and I mean enjoy without any governor on my enjoyment, right? Without any max. Yeah, right. It's not just a physical cost, but it's a spiritual one too. We end up, I at least I have, I've drifted, I've numbed out, I've pulled away from God, and I don't want to do that. I don't want to give myself over in some way to something he's gently and sweetly really inviting me to impress with him. And really, if any of our listeners, or if you or I, of course, are thinking that this is gonna be so painful to deal with if I try to do it during the holidays when there's so much stress, when there's this, where's it, there's that, it's possible we need to go back to the God list and remind ourselves what is true about God's character. You know, what does he like? What does he do for his people? Because yes, sometimes it's hard, it's sometimes it's very hard, but he gives us what we need, says we have all things for life and godliness, everything we need for life and godliness. And so he wants to supply every spiritual blessing in Christ, and so I don't want to miss out on that, and right now I postpone doing hard things until some date on the calendar that has been fabricated probably by Hallmark, anyway. I'm gonna miss out.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't want to do that, I don't want to drift away from God. Well, and when I think back to all those holidays, which seriously are most of the holidays in my adult life, I think back to how did I feel when that's what I chose? How did I feel I was miserable? To be very honest, I was. And for me, food and eating has always been the biggest stronghold for me, the biggest challenge. And so I would kind of let go of all boundaries, I would kind of let go of all the wisdom and just say, Lord, let's talk about this in January. And then what? I was miserable, I hated it. And January 1st comes.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my gosh. And there's pressure pressure at the time. I better get my act together today, right now, this minute. Yeah, it's all my full.

SPEAKER_00:

And then what happens by January 2nd? You know, it's January 2nd. I mean, I haven't dealt with anything. I I haven't, you know, dealt with anything that's going on in my mind, my heart, the the lies, anything I haven't been going to God. And so January 1st feels like this impossible day. The whole month feels impossible. Um, and so there's more misery there. But when we go to God, it's like, oh my gosh, everything He has for us is life-giving. It doesn't drain us, it doesn't exhaust us, it does the opposite. So we want to ask a few questions here of ourselves and of you. But why am I waiting to pursue healing or growth? Why am I waiting? What is behind that?

SPEAKER_02:

And invite God into that and ask him, is this aligned with you? Is there a lie here? Is there something from my past that causes me to think that this is the way to do it?

SPEAKER_00:

And then am I using January 1st as a crutch to keep me comfortable right now? Even though for me, like what I said, when I look at it, I'm really not comfortable at all in that place. I'm real, I'm really hating it, but it's like this kind of false, it's a counterfeit, it's a false comfort. It is, yeah. And then one more do I think that I'll have more willpower than or more desperation?

SPEAKER_02:

Hmm. Well, you know, I always thought of holidays. I mean, there were a lot of times, as strange as this may sound, when if I was gonna do my dieting thing, I started it at holiday time. You know, that sounds crazy, but I remember the year I went on Weight Watchers, like in the 19 late 1990s. I don't remember the exact if it was 98 or what, but I started before Thanksgiving. And, you know, even then I figured if I can do it through the holidays, I can do it through anything. But that's true. I mean, right now, if we can deal with whatever it is that that we know God is calling us to offer to him instead of waiting until January 1st, if we can do this now, if I can manage giving my heart, surrendering to him now, I could do it anytime. I really can. I want to be willing to do that. I really do.

SPEAKER_00:

I do too. I I'm tired of messing around with all the waiting that I did for years and years. I'm tired of it. I don't want to wait anymore. I want, I am ready. I'm so ready for God's best. I'm so ready to let go and surrender and say, okay, God, let's do it. Let's do it. Let's go.

SPEAKER_02:

Exactly. So I actually believe that this area of my life isn't really noticed by God or under his care until I'm ready to make a change. He is there, he's not crossing his arms and tapping his toe and rolling his eyes at me. He's not like that at all. Uh, when I have looked at the scriptures and asked God to show me what you are like, what do you do for people? He has shown me his character is gentle, it's loving, he's firm, but he's firm in all the best ways. He's reliable, he's unchanging, and again, on all the best ways. So, of course, whatever area I need to offer to him and surrender to him, food, eating, body image, whatever it might be, spending, it could be spending, it could be scrolling, whatever. He's ready, he's there, he's already in it.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, and a lot of us are dealing with grief around the holidays, too. And a lot of people push that away because it's like, I can't deal with that, I can't deal with that, but it's miserable to push it away, or maybe fear of the future, you know, disappointment. Oh, by this time last year, I thought I would be blah, blah, blah. You know, there's just a ton of emotions going on right now. Heidi and I have our share. We better get to some scripture. Proverbs 3, 5 through 6. Love, love, love this verse. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. That's pretty clear. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. I mean, again, it's like all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. All your ways submit to him, and he will make, he will, not maybe. It doesn't say, okay, on January 1st, trust in the Lord. Start trusting then. That'll be right.

SPEAKER_02:

Are you screwing doesn't say that? I think it doesn't say that.

SPEAKER_00:

Put go ahead and put it off till then, and then trust in the Lord. It says, in all your ways, starting right now. And to me, there's some relief in that. I'm kind of like, yeah, this is exactly what I need to hear today.

SPEAKER_02:

Another scripture for us today, Psalm 95, verses seven and eight, say, today, when? Today, today, today, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Oh boy. Yeah, that's pretty clear, isn't it? There's an urgency here. It's not pressure, like the pressure I feel when I put it all off until the first of January. It's it's not pressure, but it's an invitation. It's an urgent invitation. If God is stirring your heart today, how about respond today? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_02:

So what do we do instead of waiting for that mythical perfect day, January 1st of the new year, to start? How about let's just invite God into the moment we're in right now, right now, not the one in a week or in three days on the calendar. We're gonna the next Monday. Especially if the Monday is at the beginning of a month and yeah, oh my goodness. Um yeah, we want to invite God into the moment we're in and then listen and ask him for help. It's so interesting because I know I did this for years and years. We return again and again, even after a mess, slip, stumble, slide, fall, failure, whatever happens, we return to him again, invite him into the moment we're in, and ask him for help. We don't put ourselves up, we definitely go to him again and again.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, and we practice what we call daily look and learn. Heidi and I use look and learn every single day. This tool replaces the all or nothing resolution mindset with grace-based, spirit-led reflection.

SPEAKER_02:

You know what? I have a resolution that I make every year. It's to make no resolutions. I resolve not to make any New Year's resolutions because today is the day that the Lord has made. Oh, yes, right.

SPEAKER_00:

You know what? I used to be so afraid. First, I would start on that magical day, the magical hour, the magical month, and then I would just hold my breath until I mean I just knew I was gonna mess up so quickly. And I was afraid to mess up because then I had to find the next magical day, hour, month, whatever. And it just went on and on. And so when I started to learn how to renew my mind, this was one of my big milestones was I don't have to be afraid to mess up. It's gonna happen anyway. Let's just expect it. Let's be ready and have a plan. And that's what look and learn is. Look and learn is a beautiful, life-giving plan. It's actually mind renewal. We're gonna kind of walk you through it right now, what that looks like. Because it's so freeing to have a plan and not have to be afraid. I'm gonna mess up tomorrow. I'm gonna mess up this afternoon, I just messed up a minute ago. And now I have to start all over. And it's like, no, there's no more stops and starts, just walking with the Lord, walking. Okay, so let's get into this look and learn a little bit. And I think that you are gonna love this. Um, if you have struggled at all, like I have for so many years, with what do I do when I mess up? You know, do I just pretend it didn't happen? Do I write five pages in my journal about how sorry I am? What's the way? All right. So the first thing that we do is look and we look with the Lord. We invite him in and we look dispassionately. So it's not like, wait, let me just get this hammer so I can beat myself up first. It's not like that. No, it's just let's look. Let's look at what happened. Lord, what happened right there? Did I eat when I wasn't hungry? Did I totally check out emotionally? Was I triggered by something? Did I feel ashamed? What happened there? Something happened. Was I tired or exhausted? I mean, it could be any number of things. Uh, were my feelings hurt? And then the second thing we want to do is learn because a mess up is never wasted if we're learning from it. Um it's valuable, it's actually important, it's special. It's something we can put in our treasure box of lessons, you know, that we're learning with the Lord and we're growing that way. So we want to ask, Lord, what are you showing me in this? What lie was I believing when that happened? What truth can I embrace today, right now, today? How can I respond differently next time?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, exactly. Inviting God into it. He has marvelous things he wants to tell us. Jeremiah 33.3 says, Call to me and I will tell you great and amazing, marvelous things that you do not know. We don't need to wait for a new year, a new month, a new week. We don't need to keep waiting for Mondays. With look and learn, every moment can be redeemed. It becomes a new beginning. In fact, we have a um a little download you could grab if you want on Look and Learn. And the URL for that is just simply teamlifeisgood.com forward slash redeem. I love that. Reminds us that the look and learn tool is God's way of redeeming my mess ups, my slips, stumbles, slides, falls, failures, whatever it is.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, and then every day becomes a fresh chance to grow in intimacy with God, think his thoughts, and walk in greater freedom. I mean, that's like the biggest bonus to this look and learn thing is that we become closer and closer with the Lord as we do it. It doesn't push him away or push us away. Not that that's even possible because he says he will never, ever, ever leave us. But really, my intimacy with the Lord has grown so much in these look and learn moments. It's like, teach me, Lord. I want to be taught. I want to be open to your wisdom. Like you said, Heidi and Jeremiah. I mean, I want that now. I don't want to miss it. I don't want to miss out. I want to hear from God.

SPEAKER_02:

And we've done a lot of podcasts about look and learn specifically. So feel free wherever you go to get your podcasts, do a search for look and learn in our in our set of podcasts. You'll find a number of them there. You know, let's just say it real plain. The gospel message is not about resolutions. I'm getting better. It's not about promising to be better or do more, it's about receiving Jesus, relying on him, and then walking step by step and surrender. And I love that about the gospel message. I don't want to set my life up in such a way that it runs contrary to the very gospel that has saved me for eternity.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, and what better, what better time than right now? We're in the month of December right now. What better time to do this and to walk closely with the Lord? This is the month that He came to walk closely with us, you know? This is the month. What better time than right now? Philippians 1, 6 says, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. I mean, that means transformation is a process, not a January 1st project. This is a process that God is calling us to embrace, to love walking with him, mess ups and all, not to be afraid, but just to walk with him and learn and listen and love what he tells us.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, definitely. So, you know, whether it's December 12th or April 8th or November 1st, whatever. God doesn't work in you, friend. He hasn't paused to grow until you feel ready.

SPEAKER_00:

Right, exactly. Okay, so we've got a few questions for you to take into your time with the Lord this week. Maybe you want to just pick one or spend time with all three? Am I postponing obedience or surrender? Because I want to start fresh later. Am I postponing obedience or surrender? Because I want to start fresh later. Okay, question number two. Where might I be using January 1st as a distraction from today's invitation?

SPEAKER_01:

That's a good one.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, where might I be using January 1st as a distraction from today's invitation? And last one, what would it look like to bring this to the Lord right now? Now, right now. What would it look like to bring this to the Lord right now?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, definitely. Well, let's leave you with this, friend, Second Corinthians 6 2. Now is the time of God's favor. Now the day of salvation.

SPEAKER_00:

Now right now. Right now. So if you are longing for change, if there's something going on in your life you are really struggling with, don't wait for a date. Don't wait for a date. God is ready today. His arms are open wide. He's waiting. He's ready. And he delights in walking with you into the next moment, surrendered and free.

SPEAKER_02:

And feel free to download that freebie, teamlife is good.com forward slash redeem.

SPEAKER_00:

We're so glad that you've been here today, and we would love to invite you to our next episode of Revelation Within. See you next time. Bye bye.

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Heidi Bylsma-Epperson

Host
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Christina Motley

Co-host