New Year, New You
Every year, on January 1st, we get this opportunity to set goals, make resolutions and dream big. With the new calendar year we always see all this potential. But, for what? What’s the purpose behind it? The purpose of doing this is to become better. Sure, it’s a man-made idea started 4,000 years ago, but when is improving yourself a bad thing? We should all want to get better.
So, with the new year upon us, what will you improve on this year? If you have already made these goals and resolutions, great! But, if you are still working through them, my challenge for myself, and you, is to embrace 3 areas of your life to make changes. They are mental, physical and spiritual.
Mental: 2020 was exhausting…on so many levels. In some ways it was to be expected that it was mentally exhaust. After all, we haven’t had a pandemic like this since 1918 so we didn’t really have any first hand experience on how to deal with this. So we exerted a lot of mental energy trying to figure out how to do ministry and our personal lives. That is why in 2021 we need to take some mental breaks. If you don’t you will burn out really quickly. Make sure you take your day off, put your computer down and watch some mindless shows to give your mind a break.
Physical: I was a stick growing up. No matter what I ate, I was as thin as a rail. Now, as I’m significantly pass my teens, I can’t just eat what I want, when I want, how I want. I need to be more mindful of that and how it affects my body. Also, I need to exercise and move around. That is partially why I wear an Apple Watch and I strongly recommend you getting a fitness band/tracker as well. Ministers work long hours and odd hours, eating plenty of fast food and unhealthy stuff along the way. Choose to take care of yourself so that you can be in good shape for a long period of time.
Spiritual: When we are weak, Jesus is strong. Joshua 1:8-9 sums it up best when we are called to be strong and courageous. How do we get that? By staying in God’s word. We will stay successful when we stay close to God. And, with all the uncertainty still around us in this new year, we need to trust and rely on God’s leading in a big way. Do not rely on your own strength to lead people spirally. Rely on God and His strength. Spend time with Jesus daily. If you are in a little spiritual funk, try incorporating these spiritual disciplines into your life and see what God does to equip you spiritually to minister to others.
Every new year brings hope and excitement. It brings a chance to make changes to our life that will make us better. But, as in every year, there will always be uncertainty. After all, I don’t think many people beginning 2020 would have anticipated the type of devastation the coronavirus made on all of us that year. It probably wasn’t even on most of our radars at the time. The point being is that if we are going to not just survive but thrive in the new year, we need to be mentally, physically and spiritually strong. The more you can embrace goals and resolutions that help you with these 3 areas, the greater your chances are that you will come out of the year better and stronger than ever.
What do you think? How are you going to become new in this new year? What has he been doing? Share below or on social media using #ymsidekick when you share.
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