Preparing for the New Year Series
As someone who loves hiking, I am always thrilled to find out what is around the next bend or over the next hill. Will the path lead me to a river, lake or waterfall? At the top of the rise will that be the breath-taking view? There is a longing to get to the next lovely spot. We often have this mindset as we go about life and as we plan for the new year.
There is something missing from this picture this hiking picture. When the trail is new to me, I have rarely gone on a hike without looking at beforehand or carrying a map. I want to be familiar with the lay of the land, and while I might not know the trail well enough to recognize which bend or hill has the view that I am hoping for, I do know it’s there. When I become more familiar with a trail, I have a new advantage, the advantage of context. At this point, I have more knowledge, but do not have the trail memorized. However, I can look back and see the terrain stretched out behind, knowing that I am almost at the vantage point for which I have been longing.. Looking back also helps remind me how far I have come and through what kind of circumstances. This act is a form of physical reflection.
Reflection before moving forward as we journey a trail as a hiker is similar to “run(ing) with endurance the race that is set out before us” (Hebrews 12:1b) as a believer. It is where to begin when planning for the routines and goals in a new year. We see this call for self and life evaluation throughout scripture. As an example, Psalm 119:59 tells us that the Psalmist “thinks on his ways”, he evaluates His way of doing life and then he “turns his feet to” God’s standards or God’s ways. This means he was oriented in the wrong direction either in his heart, in his actions or in both and a change was necessary. When we evaluate ourselves, we are measuring ourselves against something. For the Christian, that standard is God and His ways.
If we only evaluated ourselves with our own thoughts, our self-examination would be incomplete and potentially inaccurate. The most essential aspect of reflection and self-examination is inviting God into it. To be clear, this is not because God needs our permission. Rather, this act of inviting God into our self-evaluation acknowledges two truths. God is omniscient and knows us better than we know ourselves. This is partly due to the second truth that we are deceived by sin (Hebrews 3:13). Both of these facts aid in us understanding that we need His help when it comes to a proper understanding of ourselves.
As we look back to move forward into the new year many things will become evident. This reflective self-evaluation will result in being made aware of our strengths and weaknesses, of the areas of our life where sin abounds, and the areas where God has enabled victory. We will see a picture of how God is growing us toward Christlikeness. We will view how God is changing our heart and where we still need to grow. We will be vividly aware of how far God is bringing us in our faith walk. Our hearts will be overcome with His patience and love for us, with the fact that He doesn’t give up on us. This will overflow in thanksgiving. A thankful and worshipful heart is just the type of heart we need to begin planning for a new year. God is always primarily concerned with our being or heart because it is the soil from which our actions grow. It’s the perfect jumping off point before addressing the practical goals and routines or what we would like to be doing in the new year.
Reflection Questions for 2020
1. Think through the last year. Do your ways align with God’s ways? Do you need to “turn your feet” toward His truths? What would that practically look like? (If the concept of “ways” feels too broad or overwhelming begin with these two simple categories: Loving God & Loving Others).
2. Spend some time inviting God into your self-evaluation. Pray through all of Psalm 139 (with a focus on verse 23 & 24).
A. Ask God to show you your weaknesses that are sin (especially hidden sin/sin you are unaware of), and your weaknesses that are areas of immaturity. Ask Him how might grow in Christlikeness in those areas.
B. Ask God to show you areas of strength, how you might continue to grow in them, how you might serve Him and others with them and pray for a humble heart regarding them.
C. Write down your findings in order to create goals to address your strengths and weaknesses.
3. Consider what God has put on your heart in the above two questions. Where do you see God working in the past year in both your strengths and weaknesses? Pray a prayer of praise and Thanksgiving and to keep growing in your faith.
*Resources used for reference: www.blueletterbible.org (Including, Strong’s, Vine’s Expository Dictionary, Thayer’s Greek Lexicon) and the ESV Bible translation.