Start Strong: Resolve to be DifferentJessica Bailey - 25 Jan 2017

"The journey of a Christian is the constant process of character transformation, all year round and in every season..."

2017 is wide open. That statement simultaneously galvanises and overwhelms me. It will be filled with moments both exciting - attending weddings and birthday parties - and mundane - marking essays, standing in post office queues or attempting to find my keys at the bottom of my bag.

At the start of a New Year, I often wonder if I’ll end up in the same circumstances in which I started - so much of our lives are beyond our control and unexpected moments can lead to something different to what we envisioned.

Yet, it is in this place of uncertainty that we can resolve to be different. This year, I will aim to keep my relationship with God consistent. There are of course, going to be some really difficult patches where I’ll probably spectacularly fail. But as far as possible, the intention is still there.

If you want to join me, I’m starting by grabbing the 2017 diary and blocking off time to do these 3 things:

Renewal

If we are seeking consistency we need to renew our vision for 2017. The quest to be happy has infiltrated the 21st century world. Yet the Christian faith offers a vision that is far more rewarding; one day we will become a royal priesthood and reign as co-heirs with Christ. This is far more than the introspective model of human happiness - this year we can show that the creator God is at work in our life and through our life, even in the mundane tasks.

‘What you do in the present - by painting, preaching, singing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbour as yourself - will last into God’s future - God’s kingdom..."

 - Tom Wright

Reflection

If our intention is to daily become more like Jesus we have to allow time to reflect on what virtues like humility, patience, kindness look like day to day. The journey of a Christian is the constant process of character transformation, all year round and in every season. God is under no illusion that our circumstances can affect our character; Job declared: ‘For he knows the way I take, when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold’.

God is devoted to the process of renewal in us, and in our world, but we need to allow Him space in our diary to do this.

Retreat

Finally, I’m blocking out periods for retreat. There is a strong Christian tradition, going right back to the Exodus wanderings of God’s people in the desert, that in places of silence, simplicity and solitude, the veil between earth and heaven is at its most transparent. God is known and understood most clearly. Walter Brueggemann talked about seasons where we are ‘driven back to the elemental reality of God, the reliability of God, and our capacity to trust God in the thin places where there are no other resources’.

Places like Iona or Lindisfarne with their ancient ruins are often described as ‘thin places'. Challenging ourselves to find this in daily life is often harder, but possible if we devote time to search for them.

In Revelation the Lord God declares, ‘I am the Alpha and Omega… who is, and who was, and who is to come’.

We can start this year confidently adapting our diaries and welcoming God’s presence into our routine; as centre of everything we do. 

This is the fourth and final blog in our Start Strong Series. Catch the whole series on the blog. 

#Prayer #StartStrong