My Beloved Writes:
It’s the end of January 2026, and the year is almost 10% complete. Most New Year’s resolutions don’t even last to the end of January. The desire for change is often great, but the cost to make the necessary changes in our daily lives to see that change is often too much of a cost to bear.
The reality is that the costs to change really don’t have to be very large to us. The longterm costs of not changing are often far greater than the short term investments in the here and present. Here is a list of questions to take a step back and truly take stock of what we’re doing for the Lord and what we’re doing for the sake of our own convenient routines.
- How many excuses have we told ourselves already in why we’re not following through on the goals that we’ve set for ourselves?
- How are we implementing the simple actions to move ourselves in the direction we’d like to be in at the end of the year?
- Where are we spending our time, attention, focus, and energy?
- Is what we’re doing in line with who God has called us to be? Is it inline with what vision He’s given us for the year?
- Is this year the beginning of something special? What are we doing to make it special?
- How are we inspiring those around us to do and be better?
- How are we allowing our love and appreciation for others enrich their lives?
- Who is helping us stay accountable?
- How are we stewarding ourselves?
- Do we have a plan for next month? Next week? The next 24 hours?
Like budgeting money, we need to budget our time and even the attention that we’ll give to different situations in our lives. Lack of budgeting our time and attention will lead to both flying away. The same principle as money growing wings and flying away if you don’t learn how to put it properly in its place in our hearts, minds, and lives. (Prov 23:4-5).
We need to look deeper to determine the foundation of our future. So where do we start? Let’s look at Proverbs 4:23-27 as the launching point:
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
And let’s also look at Galatians 6:6-9:
“Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
It’s important to note that the principle of sowing and reaping has multiplying power so making small changes in our lives can lead to large-scale impact. Sowing any seed leads to multiplied return of that seed in the form of fruit or nuts for generations. Likewise, learning to sow the Word can lead to a changed life for ourselves along with the ripple effects felt in the lives of those around us, including the coming generations.
Next time, we are going to examine our hearts.
~mnm
