HAPPY NEW YEAR SOJOURNERS

"Be Still"

Being still maybe the "new"' you'll do in the new year sojourner.  

For many of us, the very idea of a new year speedily arriving sends us into panic.  This panic or feelings of being overwhelmed is not necessarily based on being unprepared or lacking desire for the new; rather, it's often agitated by the very face paced nature of life, compounded by the rapid fire of the culture around us demanding us to move on.

Wait, didn't we just get through Thanksgiving? And before the turkey coma could wear off, the frenzied nature of the season jumped into high gear. Yes, so in an attempt to not  feel behind and to stay on trend and pace with the acceleration of all things Christmas, we reluctantly, but still feel the need to join the panic. 

From Thanksgiving to Christmas, generally is about 1 month, give or take a few days; but those 4 weeks or so can be very full with fellowshipping with friends and family, hosting guests, shopping, wrapping gifts.  preparing menus  and executing our own best versions of hospitality. All this often, while exhilarating wonderful, satisfying, worshipful and apart of the season, still can leave no time to fully process New Year's plans- goals, dreams, and travel, on any deep level. Many of us don't even have a new calendar, journal or bible plan, much less a board or fold out poster board to cast new plans and actions. 

So, yes it can feel overwhelming and even draining to keep up. And before you dear reader,  exclaim, " well that's on you to set up a system that works for you," ; remember life from day to day, much less  year to year doesn't happen in a well organized, planned out vacuum. Depending on one's life, work, family circumstances, the formula looks differently for all. No excuses, but as many would agree, 'life is always lifing'  to varying degree. And yes, we serve a God of order, who he himself plans; yet as we navigate the plans he has for us, to some degree we're visited by the need to bent, be molding and reshaped, which generally affects our best plans, even with a calendar of goals.

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Proverbs 19:21 (ESV)

Again, this is not to say, we don't plan. However, there is a pervasive and urgent beckoning to fall in line with the rush to have an Instagram ready plan, tweaked with bells and whistles of highlighted quarterly goals broken down over the year, with actionable and reachable bullet points on meeting those goals. No matter where you scroll, religious or secular pages and profiles, everyone seems smarter at this being organized and well planned for success in the new year game. 

But here's a thought I'd like to offer, perhaps the goal for this quarter, especially coming off a full and busy holiday season, where the  New Year's "Rock-i Eve" countdown is still ringing in your ear from the top of this present year, is to ' Be Still'.  No greater agenda, no grander plan, other than siting still and inviting the Prince of Peace we just celebrated to enter your space , to enter your mind for reset, restoration and refreshing. 

To 'be still' is one of the most wonderful gift a believer can give to oneself in the pursuit of true self-care. In Psalm 46:10, the psalter exhorts, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”. This verse points to the idea of reorientation and readjusting our focus and gaze. Be Still? Yes, The season between years, whether that be the last quarter to include September- December or specifically Thanksgiving -Christmas period, we understand to be overwhelmingly full, that stillness is the worthy response to descaling our soul and reordering or steps forward. Stillness in the presence of God, offers up the opportunity to do what's most necessary, that is, exalting Christ in all that we do, so that our life, work, ministry and joys bring him glory and honor. Reorienting our gaze and focus is all about making the main thing the main thing - God's exaltation. Being still, offers us the pause we need to ask, " Lord, where are you guiding", what's next ?", and this gives us confidence to then say, "wherever, and however you lead and guide Lord."

The one thing you can always do well in every season or year is being still in the presence of the Lord, seeking wisdom for your continued journey of being transformed into the image of his dear son. Did Jesus have a roving mission statement? No he didn't. Jesus in his short but impactful and life transforming ministry, always kept the main thing the main thing. He said, did and lived out a life on mission that always was field by his stillness.

Mark 1:35: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."

Matthew 14:23: "After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone."

Luke 5:16: "Yet he often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

Luke 6:12: "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God."

Mark 14:32-34: In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed intensely before His arrest, saying, "Sit here while I pray," showing preparation for His death.  See these motivating verses for encouragement.

Before and after our Lord did any going, healing , feeding, leading, instructing and teaching, his obedient alignment with God, the father was his priority , so he communed with the his father. Being still, is opportunity to commune with God, so we  like our Lord, should relish the invitation to being still with the singular goal of  knowing the desires of the father, find peace and rest in his power to order our steps and praise him for his sovereignty over all. So, as we knock on the doors of a new year, let's consider again what's most central to our success. Whether you feel the most unprepared to enter the new year in terms knowing your plans and process or perhaps, you've got all the tools in place to get up and GO blazing into 2026, this salient truth remains, we all need to Be Still, acknowledge God as God, and ensure that all our plans, desires and dreams exalt the Lord our God.