As one year fades into the history books and another begins, I always find myself making mental commitments to doing things differently in the year to come. Eating less ice cream, getting in better shape, reigniting my surf career, training for that marathon I’ve not quite been able to commit myself to, and other such fantasies. I’m kind of joking, but only kind of.
Each of those ideas has crossed my mind with the prospects of a new year ahead. Maybe I’ll do one or all of those things; maybe I won’t do any of them. As much as each of these things would have benefits for my physical and emotional well-being, none of them are at the top of my most important things to do list. That is reserved for matters of the Spirit. As Scripture says, “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).
Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s important to take care of our bodies as well as we can, and all of us should do our best to do so. After all, it’s with our bodies that we serve the Lord, and it’s a lot easier to do that with a strong healthy body rather than with a broken down sick one.
So, with that said, in this new year, I’m looking forward to getting to know Jesus better. It’s that simple for me. There are lots of books I still want to read, things I want to write, places I want to visit, and ministry opportunities I want to fulfill. But most of all I want to just spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word (not so much studying to teach others, although I will do that), i.e., meditating, looking, and listening for the things Jesus would speak to me about my life in him.
I also want to spend more time in prayer and worship. So often our lives as Christians (especially Christians in full time ministry) are spent looking to do great things for God and all the while missing out on the really great thing of communion with God, not realizing that simply spending time in conversation with him and meditating on the glory of his wondrous person as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is what we were made for.
Lastly, I’m looking forward to simply being led by the Spirit in this new year. A while ago, someone gave me a prophetic word that I’ve taken to heart. It’s a word of promise for this new season I’m in, and it sort of epitomizes this idea of being led by the Spirit—not sure where things are going but confident the Lord is leading.
Here it is in all its beautiful simplicity: “New beginnings. A new journey with new faces, new places. God goes before you and opens the doors. ‘See, I have set before you an open door which no one can shut.’”
Let me finish this little word of encouragement for the new year with the story of a dream I had the other night. I was with a friend who asked me if I could share with a small group of graduate students some of what God had done in my life. All I remember is that I told them one story after another of how the Lord led me from place to place and person to person sharing the life and love of Jesus, and how their lives went forward following the same pattern. It’s been that simple and in this new year I’m looking forward to enjoying the simplicity of life with Jesus. I pray you will too.
