Another Year Gone By

By Dr. Richard Blackaby, President of Blackaby Ministries International

If God had complete access to your heart, mind, money, time, energy, contacts, ideas, and passions for an entire year, what could He accomplish? How much could you grow? How many people could He bless through you? How many classic books could you read? How many problems could you solve? How many ways could God use you to extend His kingdom? How Christ-like could you become?

Every January we enter a new year that has enormous potential. Yet the days tend to race by faster than we anticipate. Before we know it, December arrives. Glancing back over the past year, we may wonder where the time went.

The apostle Paul’s warning is as relevant today as it was in his time: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). Paul knew people tend to waste time. And, as he grew older, he understood the challenge of having insufficient time to accomplish his goals.

As each year ends, people typically hope that the coming year will be better than the previous one. The problem is that most of the time, they make no adjustments in their life so the coming year will be any different than the preceding ones. You don’t have a great year merely by wishing for one. You experience the best year of your life by being more prepared for it than you have ever been before. You can’t determine many of your circumstances, but you can choose to prepare yourself for whatever may come. Wise people are intentional people. They learn from the previous year so they enter the new year with more wisdom than they have ever had before. They learn from previous mistakes so they don’t make the same ones going forward. So, rather than merely hoping you have a good year in 2019, what have you done to insure it is your best year yet?

Here are some great questions to ask yourself as you reflect on last year:

1. Did I grow personally as much as I could have?
2. Am I more loving than I was last January 1?
3. Am I more patient?
4. Am I more like Jesus?
5. Am I more skilled at my job than I was a year ago?
6. What skills did I acquire?
7. What knowledge did I obtain?
8. What opportunities and contacts did I discover?
9. What weaknesses and sins did I address in my life last year?
10. What area of repeated failure did I address?
11. What time wasters did I eliminate?
12. What healthy habits did I start practicing?

Do an audit of your life to see if you are a better person now than you were a year ago. While you may not yet be the person you want to be, make sure you are at least making progress in the right direction!

Then look ahead to the new year:

1. What are your reading goals? List some books you intend to read this year. Set a completion deadline for each one.
2. What character goals do you have? How will you achieve them?
3. How will you improve your time-management skills? What time wasters will you eliminate? What healthy habits will you commence?
4. How do you intend to improve your physical health this year? How many pounds will you lose? How many times per week will you exercise? What foods will you give up? How much sleep will you strive for?
5. If you are married, what goals do you have for your marriage? If you have children, how will you bless them? What new ways will you encourage and minister to your friends?
6. In what ways will you be a better volunteer?
7. What about your spiritual life? Will you set goals for your quiet times? How will your prayer life improve? How many Bible verses do you intend to memorize? How will you be better at sharing your faith?

People whose lives have the greatest impact on others tend to live intentionally. Your growth ought to be purposeful, not haphazard. Discipline may not come naturally to you, but it can be cultivated. Imagine how you will feel at year’s end when you achieve all your goals! Live intentionally and you may be amazed by who you become.