Happy New Year! We made it through 2020!
It was a tough year. Let’s just be honest, it was pretty horrible.
I realized more than ever how much I needed God in my life. The more I put my trust in Him, the more my emotions stabilized.
If I hadn’t turned to God, I don’t know if I could have made it through the year. I have dealt with anxiety in less stressful situations and I thought I wasn’t going to make it. But more than anything, I’m thankful that I knew where to turn. Who to turn to.
Do you feel like you lost your way? Do you feel like you need a spiritual reboot?
God is still on the throne and as long as you’re still here, it’s not too late to turn to Him.
I just want to help you with the rebooting your relationship with Him so that no matter what we face this year – or in the years to come – we know where to go in times of trouble.
Here are some things to try.
REFLECT
Reflecting is so important when it comes to our spiritual lives.
If you had to rate your relationship with Jesus in 2020 what would you rate it? Give it a rating between 1 and 10.
Thank God that our relationship with Him isn’t built on rating system. He loves us just the way we are.
He’s always waiting for us to come to Him.
I fall short so often, but He’s still waiting for me when I do.
But my desire is to please Him, even though I know there is nothing I can do make Him love me anymore than He already does.
So, I reflect on these questions:
- How focused am I in my personal Bible Study?
- How focused am I in my personal prayer time?
- Am I seeking God and listening for His instruction while I read the Bible?
These questions are so helpful to my focus during my Bible study time. They help me to see what’s truly important when it comes to spending time with God.
How would you answer those questions?
Don’t condemn yourself if you haven’t been focused. Just be honest with yourself and take the next step.
REFOCUS
Refocus on God and your faith.
How do you refocus?
- Look for Bible plans. (YouVersion, The Bible Project, Tecarta Bible, and Our Daily Bread are all great resources.)
- Think about the books of the Bible you want to read.
- Ask for help on what you can read, if you don’t know anything about the Bible.
Just refocus so that you make Jesus the center of your decision making. You want to be so focused on what God wants that nothing can stand in your way.
Refocusing means making up in your mind that you want to seek God no matter what.
When you refocus you know that you want to see God work in your life.
You want to hear Him speak to you through His Word, the Bible.
God is waiting for you to make the decision to seek Him.
Make the choice to renew your relationship with Him.
RENEW
Renew your commitment to God.
Talk to God and let Him know that you want a relationship with Him.
When you’re sincere about starting or restarting a relationship with God, He will make it possible for you to get to Him.
He’s always been waiting, but we have to do the work to get to Him.
He will help us break bad habits and stop bad decision-making when we consistently ask for His help and believe His word – that He will help us.
We just have to seek Him continuously.
Renew your commitment to pursue God. He’s waiting for you!
RESTART
Start again.
I’m so thankful that we get fresh starts with God!
He loves us so much that when we repent He welcomes us back with open arms.
All we have to do is say “God, I’m trying this again, but I need Your help.”
He loves when we depend on Him.
He’s our Father and He wants to help us, but we have to turn to Him.
Will you restart your relationship with Him today?
- Make a plan – When will you read your Bible? When will you pray?
- Commit to that time – Meet God at that time everyday (Or as many days as you can. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Try your best.)
- Show up – Be present with God while you’re there. Seek Him. Seek His instruction.
CONCLUSION
It’s a new year. Let’s go all out for God this year!
Let’s focus on Him and seek Him for instruction through these hard times.
Even though our situations may not have changed, how we react to them could change because we have our focus in the right place.
Take some time to reflect on your relationship with God and decide how you want it to get better.
Refocus your mind on Jesus and His plan.
Renew your commitment to Him.
And, restart. Start reading the Bible again. Start praying again. Start falling back in love with God.
I hope that your 2021 can be rebooted with these points.
Let’s talk about it in the chat.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I’m praying that your year will be prosperous in love, peace, and joy.
Aisha