Well, it’s that time again when we get a bit more focused and determined to make a good start of a fresh, new year. Maybe some new workout clothes and a renewal of our gym membership. Gotta start back on track with healthy eating. Perhaps you’re thinking it’s a good time to declutter your home and purge the unneeded stuff that accumulated. Of course, there is the budget plans for being more diligent in how we use our money as we pay down some of the spending we did over the holidays. These are all typical resolutions we think of as the new year ushers in upon us. And, these may all be necessary and good things to do. I’m certainly doing some of them.
But, now in the aftermath of the hustle and bustle of the holidays with all the travel, the fellowship of family, the festive table gatherings and gift-giving, the reflective quiet has brought to mind my need for spiritual deepening. Workouts, declutterring, fiscal responsibility are the mundane parts of life that, while satisfying in certain ways, don’t really reach the places where contentment and peace live, the wellsprings. God’s word says, “…pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:20-23.
So, I want to put this at the top of my list for a fresh focus in this new year. I want to spend more time giving thanks to my good Heavenly Father who, by his grace, has placed me in a prosperous country with so many resources at my fingertips. My husband’s ministry travel stories and pictures have made me so aware of the abundance we have in this country. It’s so easy to take it all for granted. It’s easy to complain about the minor inconveniences that come along in the day to day. I want to focus on the blessings. I want to spend more time praying for the people I love. There are many— family and friends— and I’m blessed to have them in my life. I want to pray more for this broken world and the grief that fills the hearts and minds of those suffering. In short, I want prayer, my conversations with God, to be my lifeblood. I want these conversations to be more frequent, more intimate, more effective. Hopefully, I will be consistent and faithful to develop this discipline better than perhaps some of the other more mundane ones. I won’t beat myself up but I will pray to this end. Happy New Year!
“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16b
Righteous doesn’t mean sinless, it just means forgiven by Christ. His righteousness covers those who are his. Do you want the comfort of his covering?