I love the beginning of a new year. The post-Christmas calmness and stillness leads into a joyful celebration of a new year and new ideas and, yes, new resolutions.
While we feel calm and rested we make new year’s resolutions which we cannot possibly keep once the hubbub of life resumes in just a few days.
But hope springs eternal, as the saying goes.
For myself, 2016 was such a bust (and really the past three years were cruddy) that I look quite forward to 2017. Let’s leave the old year in the dust!
As you and I begin 2017 full of hope and promise, I want to encourage you—and encourage myself—to commit—or recommit—to a daily quiet time with our God.
As I was reading Psalm 32 yesterday in my first quiet time of the year, I was struck by how important daily connection with my Father is and will be for the coming year.
If you would, humor me and read this psalm of David below (NIV):
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
As I read through these verses and meditated on them, I felt the Lord giving me six diagnostic questions to meditate on as I begin the new year.
ONE Am I seeking God’s forgiveness DAILY? (vv. 1-5)
David spends so much time at the beginning of this psalm singing of God’s forgiveness, and I think we should give the topic some important consideration too. Yes, if you are a Christian, Christ’s death and resurrection paid the price for your sin and you are forgiven. In that sense, salvation is a one-time event. But we do still sin and daily need to ask for God’s forgiveness.
It’s what Jesus talked about when Peter argued with Jesus about washing Peter’s feet in John 13:6-10. Jesus was saying that walking as a Christian in this fallen world will mean that our feet will get dirty and will need to be cleaned. That’s what daily forgiveness is about.
TWO Am I praying DAILY? (v. 6)
David says “let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found.” We have a supreme privilege as Christians to enter into a friendship with a holy God! In Hebrews 4:16 we read that we can “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Why would we not take advantage of this open dialog that we now have?! We need to commune with Him daily.
THREE Am I seeking God for my deliverance DAILY? (v. 7)
David sings here that our Father is our hiding place, our protection, and our deliverance. Whatever we’re facing in 2017, we can face it with God, knowing that He will protect us and deliver us. Am I daily acknowledging that truth and asking God to deliver me and protect me?
FOUR Am I listening for God’s instruction and counsel DAILY? (vv. 8-9)
According to verse 8, our God wants to instruct us and teach us and show us the way to go and counsel us. Why? Because He loves us! But the only way He can do those things is if we take some quiet moments daily to listen to Him through His Word and through prayer. This is, partly, how God will deliver me, but I must do my part and listen.
The alternative is to be like a stubborn mule that can only be led by bits and bridles and discipline and punishment. My study Bible puts it well: “God longs to guide us with love and wisdom rather than punishment. He offers to teach us the best way to go. Accept the advice written in God’s Word and don’t let your stubbornness keep you from obeying God.”
FIVE Am I trusting in God’s unfailing love DAILY? (v. 10)
When I trust in God—in His will for me, in His timing, in His ways, in His purposes, in His omniscience, in His sovereignty—it’s as if I can feel God’s unfailing love surrounding me. Even though circumstances may look grim, I trust in Him. Father really does know best. But at times this is a daily struggle to get to this reality by faith.
SIX Am I rejoicing in God and His provision DAILY? (v. 11)
This last question is the summing up of all the other questions. Rejoice, be glad, sing. Be thankful and praise God for even minor steps of deliverance and provision. And when you can’t rejoice in anything else, rejoice in God, by faith. Find your joy in Him and in Him alone. Sing and lift up your voice to Him in praise. The Bible is such a help here when we don’t know what else to say.
These six questions all lead to a daily quiet time with the Lord. Make it a goal to daily get in touch with your Father God, with your Creator, with your Lord and Savior. And discover that He is your hiding place, your protection, your deliverance, your forgiveness, your teacher, your counselor. Discover that He is your deliverer and your source of joy and love.