2017 has been a roller coaster of a year. There have been many good things that have encouraged and uplifted me-- like my life group, my d-group (discipleship group), personal growth as a husband and father. There have also been some bad things like deaths of treasured saints, death of a colleague, and other various ministry related personal issues; however, through all the ups and downs God has taught me a lot.
1. Never Stop Personally Growing
Albert Einstein is famous for saying, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.” This past year has been a huge year for me in personal growth. At the end of 2016 I didn’t like the person I had become so I challenged myself in the areas of leadership and temperament. I have grown, and have more growing to do, but it dawned on me that we should never stop evaluating and growing. We can’t think we have arrived, because we never do. I challenge you to take a hard, honest look at the person you are, including your flaws. What areas do you need to grow in? Pray about it, ask others to help you, and read books. Remember, you control who you are becoming.
2. Remain Positive
Wow, this was a revelation to me. I had a friend notice that I had become increasingly negative. Always seeing the problems with any idea. I had lost my imagination and capacity to dream. I had become a real-life Debbie Downer. So, I took another hard look at my life and committed to try to be a more positive person. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t buy into the power of positive thinking/new age/dream board kind of thinking; however, I do feel that you can accomplish more, have deeper friendships, and be an overall better person if you try to be positive. Just being open to new ideas and seeing how they might work will help you to be happier and more productive.
3. Remember What is Important
It is easy to lose sight of what is important and focus on the wrong things. There are so many temptations to focus too much on things that really don’t matter. One trap for many people is to focus on the hurts of the past instead of the blessings. Charles Spurgeon once said, “… we write our benefits in dust and our injuries in marble, and it is equally true that we generally inscribe our afflictions upon brass, while the records of the deliverances of God are written in water.” Do you forget the blessings in your life only to remember the afflictions? We have to focus on what is truly important in life. For me that is my faith, my family, and my friends. Everything that is important to me revolves around relationships, so you could say that relationships are truly the most important things. For a task-oriented person and recovering control freak, this can be difficult, but God has taught me through the painful lessons of friends dying over the past couple of years that it's people that matter.
4. The Pain of Death is Healed by the Gospel
As I said before I have experienced a lot of death over the past couple of years. Double digits of faithful saints have passed away in our church, many that I was close too. One person in particular I miss dearly, I often wish I could call her up so she could pray for various situations in my life. I also experienced a painful loss of a colleague that shook me to the core. If not for my faith, my family, and my friends I’m not sure I would have been able to cope with it. This leads me to conclude that one of the worst things we can experience in this life is death. Every time someone close to me dies, it feels like a little piece of my heart goes with them. Their absences leave a little hole in my heart. Thankfully, that hole is filled by Jesus. Death does not mean the end for me or anyone that has the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why I have resolved, in the face of death, to be more open with my faith than ever. This pain is being transformed into a boldness to tell everyone that Jesus is our ONLY hope in the face of such pain and suffering. I know I will see my beloved friends again. I know even in my death I will be held fast by the righteous sacrifice of Jesus Christ. HE IS MY HOPE!!!
