Reflect and Rest

Each year it feels as though time is passing by faster and faster.  Already I hear so many people talking about their New Year’s goals or what word will be their word of focus for the next year.  For me it is hard to believe another year has already passed and that we are stepping into a new decade.  I find that we tend to be a people who seem to push so much to the future that sometimes we forget to reflect on what is happening in the present and what has passed behind us. That reflection can be painful, joyful and/or insightful. I’m not talking about dwelling on the past for the sake of holding on to grudges or hurts nor am I referring to living off of yesterday’s mana from God. I just know we so quickly move on that we miss the opportunity to sit still in the arms of grace and just reflect on our journey with God in the year we just had.  We miss a time to refresh as we ponder the testimony of God’s faithfulness in the midst of a hectic and ever busy 12 months.

For me, 2019 was an extremely difficult year. Probably one of the hardest years I have walked through. It was riddled with pain, heartache, depression and a struggle to hold on to Hope.  Despite the hardships my family and I faced and despite my poor responses to the hardships, God was with me.  Sitting in the arms of my Lord and reflecting on 2019, I am reminded of His immense love, patience and relentless pursuit.  As I look back at this most difficult year, I see an enemy doing everything in his power to take me down but I also see a God who sheltered me, who carried me, who captured my endless tears, who held me upright, who stood in the gap, who never left me alone, who never rejected me when I came running to Him, who reminded me who I was in Him, who loved me when I was pretty unlovable and who never gave up on me!

I will not dwell on the pains and failures of this past year, but I will dwell on the goodness of my God in the midst of those pains and failures.  I will not forget how He held me together during times I thought I might not make it. Those pillars of His faithfulness will be anchors that keep me stable when the storms of 2020 blow upon me.  I am not praying for a storm free year, but rather that I would weather the storms in such a powerful way bringing all glory to my God who sustains me.  I am not a fatalist who looks at the world through eyes of constant impending doom, but rather I look at the world through eyes of truth that trouble is a part of the fallen world in which we live and rain falls on the just and unjust alike.

So, when thinking about our students. I don’t want to impress on them the view of setting the never ending (and seldom successful) goals of losing weight, exercising more, sticking to a budget, reading the Bible more, etc. Those are all good things and I am not saying people shouldn’t set goals. But, I’d rather impress on them to begin looking at God’s faithfulness in the year that passed and the year to come.  To quietly reflect on what all God brought them through last year and to set an excitement and a hope of how He will be with them in the years to come. I’d rather turn their attention to an expectation that the Lord will show up in 2020 and do things far and beyond what they could ever hope for or imagine. I’d rather instill in them to have a thankful heart despite life’s trials and to always see the light of God’s love no matter how dark life can feel at times. I’d love to encourage them to see everything through the lens of how our Lord has a plan and a future for them. They just need to reflect and rest in His faithfulness.