As the year comes to a close, I often find myself reflecting on the events through the year. Where I have been, who I have come to love, who I have let go? How I have grown and matured as an individual. Where I am financially. But most important, is the question, "Where am I in my spiritual life?"
I am so grateful to love and serve a God that, is unchanging and unchangeable through out all the ages. With confidence I rely on His promises because He is never changing.
Psalm 37:4-5.
"4. Delight yourself also in The Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5. Commit your way to The Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." {NKJV}
This year has been a good but trying year for me. I have really focused on my relationships with family members, friendships and my love life. I have made new friends and I have had to say good bye to some friendships. I have made choices that will determine how my relationships go on from here. Some of my reasons for my decisions were based on the following:
1. The people who I surround myself with, are a reflection of who I am. How do I want the world to see my reflection?
2. Are they adding to my life?
3. Are they encouraging me to be the best that I can be?
4. Are people just my friend because they know I won't say no when they're in need?
5. Are these people putting a wedge between me and my God?
Saying goodbye to some of these relationships wasn't easy. I had inner conflict as my heart didn't want to let these people go. I wanted to carry on having these people in my life because we had a history together. My head and the Bible were telling me to let them go. They were becoming a wedge between me and my Father. They were bringing me down, not enhancing me. They were making me a negative person. 1 Peter 4 talks about us suffering, but we must rejoice as it pleases God to see us sticking to Him, even though fiery trials may come.
Pslam 37:4-5 is a song about the promises God has given to me because I am His child. I realize now that when I go through trials, they bring me closer to Him. I study my Bible better to make sure I am saying hello or goodbye for the right reasons. This makes Him happy, which in return, makes me happy.
When I look at these 2 verses, I see that if I delight myself in The Lord, He will provide the things that I need and that if I entrust the management of my life to God, He will take care of me in every way.
There is no guarantee that you will skip through the year without any problems. In fact, just by what Peter is saying in 1 Pet 4, I can guarantee that you will have downs in the year. But your circumstances do not determine your happiness. Happiness resides in the hearts of the people who are in Christ. If you give your life to God, He Himself will give you His joy in your life. If I pull myself closer to God in times of celebration and in heart ache, He will pull himself closer to me. [I can picture right now hugging my mom and dad in my celebrations or in my heart ache and I have not doubts that they would pull me in and hug me tighter.... How glorious will it be when my Lord, my Creator, pulls me closer to Him, near to his heart.]
Acts 2:38 says it all... If you want to have this relationship with Our Heavenly Father... "Then Peter said to them, "repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remissions of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Maybe it's time for you to refocus and check out your priorities. The Lord wants you to delight yourself in Him. He wants to be your manager. You are the only one who has the power to either let Him, or leave Him.
