Just thought I’d post some questions I find helpful in reflecting at new year: either on our own with God, or in a church service (which is why they’re appearing here two weeks before; I’m looking forward to using them that way)…
At new year my mind goes back to a camp in the misty highlands of Malaysia, hearing a wise Japanese colleague ask the students: What has been the meaning for you of this last month? What has been the meaning for you of this year?
We’re children of a godless society where ultimately nothing has meaning – we can only tack meanings on. But we’ve been shown something else. The Lord is our Shepherd. For us each month, each year, is a time of shaping by our loving Father God. That is, Bible readings. Talks at church. Times at homegroup. Family life. Work life. Experiences we’ve had learning to share God’s love & truth with others. Bad things that have happened. Friendships & what they’ve meant. Books we’ve read. Achievements. Failures. Our loving God has been working in all these, and much more, to shape us.
So here come some questions to reflect on with God. First perhaps, orient yourself to His presence by reading from the Psalms: maybe Psalm 90:1-2, Psalm 139:1-16, Psalm 23. This God is here: talk to Him, ask Him, as you remember now, as you reflect…
1 What joys — encouragements — achievements stand out as you look back over last year?
2 What do you feel most thankful for?
3 In what ways has God rescued you this year?
4 What were the biggest frustrations/discouragements?
5 Have you any unresolved issues? How might you set about tackling them?
6 What has really struck you most this year about God and about following Him — what were the 1-2 biggest lessons you’ve learned from God’s Word?
7 What was your best experience in sharing your faith with someone who wasn’t yet a Christian this year? What do you want to pray as you look back on that? Do you have any ideas of 2-3 people God might want you to share your faith with this year?
8 Overall, what do you feel you learnt this year, how do you feel you grew?
9 In what areas (or behaviours? or gifts to try out?) specially would you want God to help you go on growing in the coming year? (Including also, what parts of God’s Word do I not know well and should maybe explore and apply to myself?)
10 How would you like to pray, or be prayed for by a friend, as you look ahead?
If you’re doing this as church, now might be a good time to move towards communion. But before that, or to round off if we’re doing this on our own with Jesus, here are three foundations for confidence for the new year:
1 It makes a huge difference that we have such a God as we do; it makes a HUGE difference that our life has an ongoing direction. Your life and mine is like a boat guided along a river with a skilful helmsman. We aren’t alone facing whatever may come in the new year: challenges, decisions. Someone who knows us exactly, and loves us colossally is seeing us through it. Isn’t that good?
2 It makes a huge difference that we have Jesus as our Shepherd who is helping us grow, `guiding us in the paths of righteousness`. We can be confident that the total of what happened last year and will happen this will actually turn to our growing and maturing. In this culture without God, we have no real idea what maturity or wisdom are, or how or where to learn them; and in turn there’s the fear of aging, of growing a year older, of hitting 40, 50,60, because we’re going nowhere. But we Jesus-followers have a Shepherd who promises to help us grow and mature, & gives us His Word to make it happen. Every year we can have confidence: that’s another year nearer my goal.
Two of my favourite verses are Romans 8:28-29: In everything that happens, the God who is here & loves us is at work, to make us like Jesus: developing in us wisdom, gentleness, strength, calm, love, joy, self-knowledge, holiness, power for His Word and goodness into the world; strength to build with good times and bad. We’re coming along, slowly but certainly. So every passing year is a year to be proud of. If we’re a true Christian, Ephesians 2:10 we’re God’s workmanship, His masterpiece. Every year we’re more like the eternal masterpiece He’s making of us.
3 It makes a huge difference to our confidence that Jesus our Shepherd guarantees how even the bad times have meaning. Because sometimes, chaotic stuff happens; or stuff coming straight from Satan. God doesn’t cause these things; but He foresees them. (Romans 8 properly translated doesn’t say that `All things work together for good…` – they sometimes don’t – but `IN all things [and see v37] God works for the good of those who love Him.`) The reality is that God is exceedingly good at making these things, in the long run, the bumps that we climb on, as Wiersbe says. In everything: unemployment; marriage tensions; kids’ problems; evangelism that failed; singleness; money issues; sickness; issues at work when we were honest & everything went wrong as a result.
What gives us confidence for these? Well: that we are loved unreservedly beyond any doubt; loved enormously by the God who is here now & is our Shepherd; God who loved us so much he gave His own Son for us; and therefore He won’t let us go through them unless He can ensure He will turn them somehow into longterm, eternal good; depth, growth, maturity. (Turn up Deuteronomy 33:12, 26-27a.)
Of course these promises are to Jesus’ followers, Jesus’ disciples. It’s our choice whether we come under the Shepherd’s shaping. We’re free and can walk away from it. Which means walking into the dark; but outside in the chaos, the anarchy, there is no shaping. We can stay there – or, very deliberately, we can step under His reign where He makes things make sense. And in this time of year when days are short we remember Christ came into the darkest time of history; came and in the end died in the darkness, to pay for our sins, to take away the sin-barrier that kept us from God’s kingdom. So that we can receive His forgiveness for our sins and failures, and give our life over to His shaping and control; so that we will never be alone, but we can always be where He shapes things and gives them meaning…
We weren’t built by God for chaos, isolation, and darkness, and that’s not how it’s going to be. We don’t know how long it will be before the Lord comes back and we go to dwell, as Psalm 23 says, `in the house of the Lord forever!` But throughout 2023 our Shepherd will be there, just as His Word says, the whole time; and so we know, in the end it will be a year to be proud of.
Then let this confidence and certainty flow into you from God (particularly if, or as, you’re taking bread and wine into you); remembering how much that Shepherd loved you; how much it cost Him; how certain you can be of His loving care. Maybe read Psalm 23 again (joyfully and confidently!) That’s how it will be in 2023!
