The new year is here.

Not much has changed so far. It is true that a year is only as good as you make it. So, what do you expect in 2021? Most are not expecting much. 2020 knocked the air out of most of us. I hope you have no desire to repeat 2020.

I also hope you have a desire to improve your life and to grow spiritually. So many Christians are satisfied with only being saved and going to heaven.

Everyone knows a new year is as good as you make it.

The reward of heaven is great for a believer, but there is more to experience than just being saved.

Everything has a season.

“To everything, there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NKJV)

We would prefer some seasons never show up or move along. COVID-19 certainly needs to go. But even COVID-19 has a season and a purpose.

The tension is finding a purpose in a difficult season. Bad seasons We tend to steal our focus. We tend to focus on the struggle than to seek out the purpose in the struggle.

Can we find a purpose in the challenge of COVID-19 challenge? Yes.

God can use all types of seasons for His glory and our change. COVID-19 accelerated and revealed the way we lived before the virus showed up.

If you entered 2021 with worry the virus increased the symptoms and accelerated the experience rate. This acceleration is the same with any negative attribute you are dealing with. If we were prone to fear before the virus, it only became worse when the virus showed up. This principle is the same for greed, worry, and all unhealthy emotional behaviors.

We must resist entering a new year with self-limiting behaviors that have kept us in failure in past years.

Let’s look at a story from Star Wars. Luke is about to enter the cave of Dagobah and what happens is an eye-opening encounter with Yoda. From the moment Luke Skywalker enters the Dagobah cave, a sense of tension, not unlike something out of horror films, grabs hold. This pivotal scene encapsulates some strong metaphors that are prevalent in the study of literature and helps us to learn more about the young hero through this critical phase in his burgeoning Jedi career.

When Yoda is asked by Luke what is in the cave, Yoda responds, “Only what you take with you.”

Nothing enters our new year without our agreement. Unfortunately, many of us treat every year like the last one. This is a big mistake.

A new year serves us the opportunity to examine our lives.

Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” The statement is not totally true, but it has a measure of truth we must consider. We have 365 days to grasp a new and better way to live. We know that God has both a plan and a purpose for us.

We owe it ourselves in 2021 to search out the purpose of God for our lives.

That search must include the reality that God has ordered my steps this year.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. (Psalm 37:23, NKJV)

Did you see it? A good man’s steps are ordered by God. God has ordered moments, places, and events for us. With a new year in front of us, we must seek out what God has ordered.

So we start with a few questions.

What does God want for me?

What does God want from me?

The scripture reveals that God has things prepared for those who love Him.

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” (I Corinthians 2:9–10, NKJV)

God has things for us that we cannot see and have not heard. The scripture reveals that God will reveal those things to His children. I know that being spiritually alert is a part of the equation.

Let’s “get woke” in a spiritual way this year.

Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:14–18, NKJV)

The commands are…

• walk circumspectly ( straight and real)
• don’t be a fool (wasting time on foolishness)
• be wise (discreet)
• understand the will of God (knowing His word and ways)
• don’t be drunk with wine (don’t seek euphoria from wrong sources)
• be filled with the Spirit (hearing and following God)

This sounds like religious jargon. It’s not.

The commands are clear, distinct, and on-point.

2021 is the season for the church and the believer to wake-up.

Are you napping or woke?

Thanks for reading this post. I would love to hear from you.

What changes have you considered for 2021?

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