To Know Him More
January 1st.
The calendar page turns.
365 blank days to fill.
I have such a love/hate relationship with New Year’s Day.
It’s not so much in the reflection and retrospection, as it is in the looking ahead.
So. Much. Pressure.
Friends, family and social media posts asking, “What’s your resolution?”, “Do you have a word for the year?”
I can think of enough resolutions- from the big to the little- that I could make keeping them my full time job!
-Eat healthier and work out more
-Check in on family more often
-Read at least 2 books every month just for fun
-Keep the inside of my car clean
-Learn to play the guitar
-Be more patient with people
-Take up gardening
-Learn the art of tatting
-Write something daily
Words? How do I choose one? There are SO many good ones!
Trust. Definitely need to remember God has a plan and it’s always way better than mine!
Rest. Still a work in process to depend on Him fully.
Healthy. That’s a no brainer.
Joy. Appreciate. Inspire. Perspective.
Let me say up front, there’s nothing wrong with any of those approaches to the New Year. For some people they work well. I know many of you seek God’s wisdom as you think about your resolutions and word of the year. For me, it’s just never worked.
Two weeks into a resolution and I’ve re-stocked my fridge with ice cream, neglected to call or text anyone, created a higher pile of unread books on my nightstand, added a few more empty soda bottles to the floor of my car… you get the idea!
And the word? Last year I chose one, but had to go back through my journal entries to even remember what it was!
The past several days as I’ve agonized over the page turn from December to January, and prayed for God to give me a special word or a specific resolution, the lyrics to an old Steve Green song that I hadn’t heard or thought of in several years continued to run through my head. I’d wake up in the middle of the night, and they would be on my mind. I’d be singing in the car, and the tune would come out through my lips.
The song is “Oh, I Want To Know You More”. The chorus that plays on repeat in my mind says:
“Oh, I want to know You more, deep within my soul I want to know you,
Oh, I want to know You,
To feel your heart and know Your mind, looking in Your eyes, stirs up within me
Cries that say, "I want to know You, oh, I want to know You, more.”
This year, my approach is simply this one thing: “To Know Jesus more.”
The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:7 & 8a “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
As we walk into 2024 together, I’m asking those of you reading this to help hold me accountable. Check in with me. Ask me if I’m consistently spending time with Jesus. (Because you can’t know a person without spending time with them, right? ) Ask me to share with you what He’s revealing about himself to me.
Research says we become like those we spend the most time with. I hope that 2024 is transformational for me.
