Making the New Year About God — Not Us
Every January 1, I feel the same rush. Fresh ideas swarm my brain. I can practically feel the fire burning under me. I’m ready to sprint through January and stay at full speed until December. I want to tackle the new year set before me. But … February hits, and my run slows down. By March, I’m walking. When April gets here, I am stalled. I never fully understood why until I asked this question: How can I stop this from happening every single year? The answer is one word: God.
I realized my new year goals were about me — not Him. In my well-meaning excitement, I forgot to sit, pray, and ask the Lord what He wants me to accomplish in the year ahead.
Friends, have you ever experienced this? If so, how can we make sure our goals are His goals?
It sounds so simple, but I believe we can stop, pray, and then go forward with the same gusto we had every other year. The only difference is we are making the new year about Him — not us. With the Lord taking over, we know we can do this because it’s His plans for us — not ours.
1. Stop. Let’s pause and take a deep breath. If we are running full steam ahead, we won’t be able to discern what God wants us to do for Him. If we stop making our own plans, we will be able to hear from the Lord and forge a path in the direction He calls us to. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lᴏʀᴅ, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (NIV).
2. Pray. Raise your voice to Him. Instead of praying just for yourself, ask what the Lord is blessing so you can be a part of it. Then, ask what He can bring more clarity to. Instead of a million little goals or one huge one, what’s one smaller yet instrumental thing you can go after next? Continuing our scripture, Jeremiah 29:12 goes on to say, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you” (NIV).
3. Go. Now, we can step forward with all He has for this juncture of our lives. We don’t have to stress. Instead, we can stand refreshed and renewed that we stopped and prayed to hear His voice above the noise of life and the excitement of the new year. “‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lᴏʀᴅ, ‘and will bring you back from captivity’” (Jeremiah 29:13, NIV). This shows us that seeking His face is the only way to seek what He has for us. It’s not selfish but rather a way to bring glory to His Kingdom first and foremost.
Friends, are you ready to make this new year about Him? Before we take even one more bold step, let’s consider if we stopped and prayed about this step first. Once we have, we can run toward the goal the Lord has set before us. We can sprint if we dare!
Blessings,
Melissa Labieniec
How will this impact your goal planning for the new year? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
Some days I feel like my mind is going in a million different directions. I love the reminder to stop, otherwise I am focused more on my voice than listening to His. Beautifully written and so timely.
Well written. We must align our goals with God’s purpose for our lives.
It’s so easy for me to be “chomping at the bit” and eager to turn a new leaf at the beginning of the year, but keeping that inspiration and drive throughout the year is much harder. I can’t do it without the hand of God guiding me.
I have learned (often by mistake!) that God’s plan is always better than mine. I’ve wasted a lot of time and energy trying to do things my way. I have goals, yes, but I ASK instead of TELL God about them. Some He keeps, some He tweaks, and some He drops off the list. It’s His list, not mine.
What a wonderful reminder to STOP! I was just sitting here making a “To Do” list for this week and breaking it all down into days that would make sense. NOWHERE on this list did I have :PRAY or LISTEN TO GOD or STUDY HIS WORD – or any other faith filled activity. Some make it into every day, others don’t, but ALL can be better part of every day. It may mean I need to literally write them into my lists. That’s OK. I want them to be a priority throughout my day while also doing the daily productive things for our family and myself.
Beautiful, friend!