What do you like best about the new year?

Though the parties and countdowns are fun, over the years what I’ve come to most appreciate is the chance to reflect and realign.

Life gets busy. The urgent tends to crowd out the quietly essential. So we busy ourselves with school, work, friends, sports, Facebook, music, and working out, but we seldom carve out time for things like simple reflection. And, if you’re like most Americans, life starts to seem stressful and perhaps out of control.

Carson Pue, in his book Mentoring Leaders, wrote, “Leaders [and all Christians] need to understand that when the Lord gave us twenty-four hours in a day, he gave us all the time we need to do what he is calling us to do. So if you… are frazzled by busyness, it is time to examine closely the priorities of your life. If Jesus gives us enough time to do his will, then being overly busy is suspect.”

God doesn’t want us to live frantic, hurried lives. We’re not supposed to do everything; we’re called to follow Him. If we really want to be about the things that God is calling us to do—to live a focused life and not be distracted by all of the nonessential things—we need live prayerfully reflective lives. “Give careful thought to your ways,” God tells his people in Haggai 1:5. David prayed, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

The new year is a great opportunity to look back on the last twelve months and to realign yourself with God’s heart for the coming year. Before January is over, I encourage you to give yourself an hour with a Bible and a journal, and to prayerfully consider the following questions:

1. •How did you see God work in 2009?
   

2. •What were the highlights of the year for you? Why?
   

3. •In what ways are you a better person now than you were a year ago?
   

4. •Do you understand God better than you did last January?
   

5. •What habits did you practice in 2009 that you want to continue this year?
   

6. •Are there any habits you want to discontinue? Any you want to begin?
   

7. •What one thing, if you really gave it the focus it deserved in 2010, would make the biggest positive difference in your life?
   

8. •What is the one thing God is calling you to do this year? How can you ensure that it does not get pushed aside by urgent but less essential things?
   

Remember that a God-centered life is an issue of focus and trust: focus, because we can’t do everything and we need to follow God to do the few essential things; and trust, because we have to believe that God will take care of the rest.

Leith Anderson said, “Let’s admit it, constant busyness is personal and public evidence that we do not trust God to provide. Priorities, schedules, and Sabbaths are outward demonstrations of trust in the Lord.”

This new year, demonstrate your trust by taking a Sabbath time to reflect and to prioritize your schedule for the coming year. Give careful thought to your ways. Make sure your life in the coming year mirrors God’s heart.

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a week of reflections for the new year