Growing Spiritually in the New Year

A few years ago I decided to start writing out a plan to ensure I didn't end the year in the same place spiritually as I was when the year started.  Year by year, we might not notice a lack of spiritual growth in our lives.  

You'd be surprised how quickly the years can pass without having memorized one verse of scripture, without confronting a habitual sin in your life, without having shared the gospel with an unbeliever, without having experienced a point in your walk with God that lit a fire under you and caused you to live differently.

Instead of making "new year's resolutions" each year, I sit down with God and ask "How can I grow closer to you this year?"  By being intentional about setting goals to prioritize my relationship with God, I've found the result is growing in my relationships with my family and friends, as well.  Setting some spiritual goals for the next year also helps me ensure that there is fruit developing from my life each year instead of being a sponge that continues to soak it all in, but gives little out.

Here are some examples of a few of the spiritual goals that I've set through the years, many of which repeatedly stay on my list from year to year.  Try a couple of these, and maybe even come up with some of your own, so that you are one year closer to Christ—and to those you love—by the time next January rolls around:

1. Meet with God before anyone else in the morning.  Do you have a plan to meet with God first thing in the morning before anyone else?  It's one way of prioritizing Him above anything and anyone.  It's also a way of making sure you're at your best, emotionally, by the time you start interacting with your family.

2. Get into God's Word every day.  If you've owned a Bible for years but have never read the entire book, this is a great time to start.  There are several good resources available to help you read through the Bible in a year.  Try it in a different translation than you usually read.  Or, ask yourself where you want to be in your relationship with the Lord by the end of the year and then set tangible goals for getting there through study.

If you need to slow down and learn to listen for His voice, study all the Word says about "rest" or "hearing" or His "voice."  If there are character traits you know you need to work on, consider an in-depth study of some or all of the fruits of the spirit. (See Galatians 5:22-23)  Or, you can do as I do, and read at least 5 pages a day starting with Genesis all the way through to Revelation.  At that rate I can read the whole Bible in one year.

3. Participate in a weekly small-group Bible study or lead one among your friends and neighbors.  If you don’t go to a Bible study or a once-a-week Bible study group, either at church or in someone’s home, you’re missing out on a lot. We can grow at a faster rate in community because we are able to share our experiences with one another and hold each other accountable.  I believe it will help you grow closer to the others, but most of all, you’ll grow closer to God by loving His other children.

4. Create a prayer journal. Record your blessings and answered prayers.  For some reasons this has been the most difficult for me.  You don’t need any fancy, leather bound journal book to make your own prayer journal.  All you need is a pen and a single notebook.  Write the date and day of the week somewhere at the top. Next, in the far left, write the person’s name or issue. Then write out the problem and the prayer request.  

What happens is that over time, you’ll look back at people you were praying for, the problems they had, and what the prayer request was, and it will show you just how good God is.   By writing out these types of things, you will not only be more keenly aware of how God is working in and through your life, but you will become a person who is able to "…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

5. Pick a verse reflecting a theme for the year.  The psalmist gave us good cause to memorize Scripture when he wrote, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)  There are two things he is saying, I will hide God’s Word in my heart (memorizing it, for example) and do it in order that “I might not sin against you.”  That’s what this verse means.  Sin can help keep you out of the Bible, but the Bible can help keep you out of sin.

Make some of these action points a priority in your life this coming year and hopefully, by the end of 2019, you'll not only be another year older in your body, but another year older in your faith and walk with Christ.

How will you grow in your faith and walk with God this next year?

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