I shared recently the main points of an article that I read
recently by Steve Graves, a Christian author and motivation speaker,
(stephenrgraves.com/articles/read/a-reflection-on-2015). He likes to take time
at the end of the year to do some reflection on the healthy habits that he
started or saw grow in the previous year.
I did some reflection after I read his article and some of
my thoughts were similar to his. Here are just a few of my thoughts from
reflecting on 2015:
There is no substitute for time spent in a relationship with
God or with other people. This is the same thing I have been saying for years. He
pointed to Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 that says it is unwise to live life alone. In
Genesis 2:18 god began His creation of humanity by saying, “It is not good for
man to be alone.” We need to spend time in the Bible and in prayer. We also
need to spend time with the people we love. We need community.
We need to trust God to do what only He can do in our lives.
We should celebrate the mystery. This is the way God builds our faith. We do
not know how seeds grow into plants. We are puzzled why some things we try work
and others do not work no matter how hard we try. Steve suggests that we
practice, “a relaxed view of God’s sovereignty.” We need to let God do His
thing and not worry so much about the things only He can do. God will take care
of us.
What we believe affects how we live our lives. We talk about
faith but do we really trust God to take care of us? We say a lot about hope
but do we know that God has a plan for our lives? We know that love is
essential but do we nurture and treasure love in our own life experience? We
need to both express and share our faith, hope, and love.
What did you learn in 2015? When you give it some thought I
think you will agree that it is a very good question. The end of a year and the
beginning of a new year is a good time to reflect on the things that are
important, as we get ready for the year ahead.
Bro. Robin
