What Do You Want This Next Year to Look Like?

Monday Motivation

Dec 27

As we look towards a new year, I wanted to talk about what you want this next year to look like? Maybe you are hoping for more vacations, maybe you desire deeper friendships and better family relationships.

Perhaps you are ready for a more consistent quiet time. It could be that you hope to become more focused on your spiritual journey and plan to commit to praying and reading your Bible daily.

All of these things are great.

Do you know what could really help with whatever this year brings?

Having an eternal mindset.

Going into this year with the realization that you don’t know what this year will look like, but God’s promises are true no matter what.

Bracing for whatever this year throws at us with a shield of faith could be the best way to start.

Ephesians 6: 13-18 says “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take-up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”

We really can get prepared for the year ahead when we put on the Armor of God. Getting into God’s word and having the belt of truth on every day will allow you to have an eternal mindset.

When Jesus is the greater focus in our daily life, we react differently.

We can see eternity amongst the storms and rainbows of our days ahead.

I think of the Israelites and how fast they were to grumble and complain about their situation. God called and directed them out of Egypt and performed amazing miracles for them.

Yet His people didn’t turn to Him when things got hard. They saw their enemies and couldn’t see past them. God was and is bigger than their problems and bigger than our problems. When we shift our focus from the problems and hard times we have to focusing on God and trusting in Him, we are setting our minds on eternity and know that he can help us through the problematic and hard times.

Let’s brace ourselves for whatever comes our way and put on the Armor of God. As we do that, we will not only be ok when the fiery darts come our way, we will be armed and ready, we will be loved and forgiven and we will also be EMPOWERED.

We may want this next year to be easy and for our busy lives to slow down. BUT, we don’t live in easy times and I don’t see schedules and the way we live slowing down.

Being a Christian in this world means we are up against challenges. The best way we can gear up for this next year is to arm ourselves with faith, truth, righteousness and peace… those things will help us have an eternal mindset.