I’ve been thinking again, dangerous, I know, about resolutions, this time about picking the right resolution.
In my New Years blog on Resolutions I challenged us all to put God in the centre. That’s great, now what do I do? Having God at the centre is a great goal, what does it mean? In my Second blog I talked about 3 strategies and I want to concentrate on strategy 2 which is about spending time with God’s word. This is because choosing the right resolution to help you in your relationship with God is important, and God’s word can help. The only problem is, where do you start?
I would gently suggest that you start with our Lexio programme. That has recommenced today and it is centred on the person of Saul of Tarsus and his conversion and aftermath. There are a couple of really important lessons to draw from the account for us, and shows, therefore, why we should immerse ourselves in God’s word each day to help us make the right resolutions.
Saul thought he was doing the right thing. Only problem, he wasn’t. Sometimes we can get so caught up in our lives and what we are doing, that we miss the important point. There is nothing wrong with being focussed, but every now and then we need to stop, take stock, and ask the question, am I going on the right path? Am I doing the right thing? We can not always self assess. (I don’t think Saul, or Paul as he later became known did much self assessment!!)I know I am the worst at this, and in recognizing this I know I have to have others around me to help me see the right course to take. For Saul, that was the intervention by God, a bit dramatic I know, but he then had Ananias to assist him to see the new path he was to take, by the way, taking all the zeal, and knowledge that he had, but focussing it in a new direction. I have at least three people whom I trust implicitly for advice, and mentoring, and it makes a huge difference. However, you do have to experiment, because sometimes the person you think is right, is not necessarily right for you.
Possible Resolution: Gather at least two trusted people with different capabilities to help me assess and refocus my energies and direction for the new year.
Ananias couldn’t believe that God wanted this man to do His work. Only problem, God did. Sometimes in our personal and work lives we encounter people who we simply do not get on with, do not like, or simply have a revulsion to. We wonder, why are these people here, and why are they causing me this grief?Usually, these people are not people we work directly with, but they may be a superior or we have some tangential relationship to them. On some rare occasions we are directly involved with them. Part of Ananias’s issue with Saul is perversely the same problem that Saul had with the first disciples, both Saul and Ananias believed they knew what God wanted and was on about, and both knew that the other was wrong. It is not until God intervenes that we discover the solution.
I remember being told a very powerful story on God intervening in conflict situations by a person who I admire immensely. They were working in a family company with their brother. The only problem was they didn’t get on. There were arguments and great tension which was affecting both. The person telling me the story said, in desperation he started praying to God something like this, “Lord, I love my brother, but I can’t deal with this, you deal with it instead, I hand this situation over to you.” Praying this, while the brother was going off at him. After a period of a few months, strange things started to happen. The phone would ring, there would be a knock at the door, something that would interrupt the conflict. In time the brother left, and they to this day, have a good relationship.
What is my point? Simply this, conflict does not have to be ongoing, and it can be resolved in God. God intervened with Saul, the Church and Ananias, God intervened with the two brothers, and God can intervene on your behalf, but you have to let him.
Possible Resolution: Let conflict in my life be handed over to God at each encounter.
So here is an example of when we immerse ourselves into God’s word we have the opportunity to be changed and transformed in our lives. So why not make one of your resolutions be a good resolution and decide to spend each day with God in his word? If you would like to receive our Lexio as a starting point, then email me, or message me or text me with your details, I can put you on our email list.
It is my resolution this year to try to assist as many people make God the centre of their lives. I hope that you might resolve to make God at the centre of your life, and in doing so you might make the right resolutions and I hope that one of those is to spend time in God’s word, it really can make a difference.