MAKE TIME TO REFLECT
SCRIPTURE: HEBREWS 12:2 (NKJV)
”looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Are you happy with where you are today? Is this all you ever dreamt and hoped to become? If your answer is “Yes,” you have likely made a lot of progress, but taken your eyes off the prize for the high calling of God in Christ (Phil 3:14). You have stopped pressing or pursuing the heavenly goal. You have become satisfied because of earthly achievements.
However, if your answer is “No,” then you do recognize that there is more to accomplish. Make adjustments, forget the past (victories and failures) and reach forward to the things that are before, like an athlete stretches out to finish a race. God is at work within us to accomplish the good work he began in us.
As you assess where you are now, ask yourself, “how did I get here? “Was it God who put me where I am now against my will?” No! Was it satan who found a way to impose my present state in life upon me against my will? No! Or was it just circumstances beyond your control that have brought you to this point and you cannot do anything about it? Once again the answer is “No!”
You are where you are by the choices you have made so far. Choice is one powerful force in our lives that determines the course of our lives. Unfortunately, when it comes to assessing the progress or stagnation of our lives, many sound as if they are just flowing along with some uncontrollable forces that are at work in their lives. It lures you into a blaming mindset, playing the blame game and shirking responsibility.
It is still early days of the new year. By the grace of God, you have a great opportunity to be the best you can for God as a child of God and a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ and to do the best you can to glorify his name. However, in all this, your time of reflections matter especially, because you need to make the best choices going forward. Infact, your godly choices really matter. As much as God is at work in you to produce something good and glorious, your choice to respond accordingly or not is also important.
Today’s verse is encouraging. Our Lord Jesus Christ made choices. He was not coerced, forced or manipulated to go to the cross by the Father. Notice that when he considered ”the joy (future glory) that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame…” The best of choices are often made after sincere reflection. The year is still young. Make time to reflect and position yourself for more progress.
PRAYER
I thank you, Father, for the things the Spirit of God is stirring in my heart. I am therefore motivated to grow more, get better and serve you better. Thank you for the opportunity to fellowship with you and to reflect on my walk with you. I am confident of receiving wisdom for my future decisions as I fellowship with you more and more in Jesus’s name, Amen.
FURTHER READING (NJKV)
Ephesians 2:1-7
[1]And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
[2]in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
[3]among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
[4]But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
[5]even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
[6]and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
[7]that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
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