As we look forward to another wonderful year, many of us make new year resolutions. Maybe this year we can set goals that help us grow spirituality over the next twelve months. As Christians, we should be growing together in terms of three concepts: worshiping God, loving others, and serving. Perhaps this year we can challenge ourselves with building stronger relationships within these three areas.
Over the next three posts, we’ll see how we can do this. In this post, we’ll look at our relationship with God.
Our relationship with God
It’s no surprise, strengthening our relationship with God is important. Let’s look at two ways we can grow with God this year.
Time With God
If we want to know God’s will for us and wonder why we go through tough times, we have to know his voice. The closer we are with God, the clearer we’ll see God’s will; the clearer we see God’s will, the more comfortable we’ll be with the circumstances in life.
Early in Mark’s gospel, Jesus removed himself from all distractions to pray:
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.[i]
If we read the original Greek text, we see that the emphasis is put on how Jesus removed himself from his busy ministry to pray. Let’s try to remove ourselves from our busy schedules this year, and take time to be with God.
Physical Well-Being
Another way we can draw nearer to God this year, is by taking care of ourselves. God has given us a body and He expects us to honour Him by taking care of it. Paul wrote,
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought for a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.[ii]
Too often, we read this passage with others in mind rather than ourselves. I’m sure we can all improve the way we take care of ourselves. For some, it might mean eating better, while others are looking to quit smoking. For me, I’m going to try to drink less coffee and eat less fast food. In any case, let’s search ourselves and ask how we can better honor God with our physical well-being.
We can grow our relationship in many other ways as well. This question is, how will you challenge yourself to draw nearer and honor God this year? Whatever you choose, I guarantee you will be richly blessed for it.
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From our home to yours, have a blessed and wonderful year!
