So, did anyone make New Year’s resolutions this year? (solicit responses—get all typicals, and talk about how we make the same ones over and over)
I didn’t make any this year, but I did look through my old journals to find an example of some resolutions I have made in the past.
Jan 1, 1998. This year, I resolve to:
1. Be more on the ball with school-related matters. This means SAT’s, ACT’s, homework, etc. I’ve gotta give it my all–which I’m not doing right now–to get anywhere near God’s ideal for my future.
2. Be less critical and more loving towards my sisters and parents
3. Be a better friend to Cristina, Lara, Vanessa, Whitney & Nicole, and FORGET ABOUT MARK!
4. Talk to God more–Pray DAILY!!
5. Eat more reasonably, exercise more, and LOSE some WEIGHT!!
I made these resolutions when I was 16 years old, in the middle of my junior year of high school. I’d say they are pretty typical of New Year’s Resolutions. There’s the goal of weight loss, of being in better relationship with loved ones, of working hard, and of growing closer to God.
We tend to make the same resolutions year after year because we often fail at them. We look toward the new year with a feeling of a fresh start, and we carry into the new year high aspirations of what we would like to accomplish. But then, we fall into the same patterns of procrastination and laziness, and end up failing at our resolutions. This is also the reason that I personally didn’t make resolutions this year, and I had to go back eight years to find some!
I would like us to think about these resolutions, or any goals and aspirations. What is the source of these resolutions? Societal norms/expectations? Internal desires? God’s leading?
As Christians we can probably agree that the best basis for our resolutions, or other goals, would be God’s will or guidance in our life. So, a lot of people ask me this question: how can you hear God? Is it really that easy to just figure out what God wants you to do, where God is leading? I want to talk for just a minute about how we can listen in to that still, small voice.
One obvious way to do it is to read the Bible. We can look at the Psalsms of praise and use them as an example of how to praise God. The prayers of the prophets, Jesus, and others in the Bible give us an example of how we can pray. We can take advice from the Matthew 25 verse that tells us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned, for we are doing those very things to Christ himself. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Micah 6:8, which asks, “ what does the LORD require of you?” And the answer is as simple and complicated as, “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
The Bible gives us a great guide for living our life, and it challenges us to consider our actions and our attitudes more closely. But God is not limited to speaking through the Bible. We need to learn how to discern God’s word for our lives as individuals.
Each and every one of us is entirely unique. We have physical differences, our own personalities, likes and dislikes, passions, and communication styles. Just as we would communicate differently to a teenage daughter, a coworker, and the pharmacist, God communicates uniquely with us. God may use logic to an engineer, while he may use concepts to speak to an artist. God may use words, music, feelings, experiences, and many other things to speak to each of us individually. Would anyone be willing to share some of the ways God speaks to you? (elicit responses)
Thank you for your input. God spoke to Joseph through dreams, and the interpretation of dreams. I, and several people I know, also receive messages from God through dreams from time to time. Another way that God speaks to His people in the Bible is through angels. To Elizabeth and Mary God sends angels, to tell them that they are going to become pregnant with the children who would become John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ. While many people today may not be directly visited by angels, we can receive a word of God through the angels, the people, around us every day. God spoke to Moses using a burning bush, and in the same way, God speaks to many people through nature. Some, like the prophet Ezekiel and the Apostle Paul, received visions of grandeur. Perhaps that is like our visions and dreams that we have of doing great things for God. Whether it’s a voice from the sky or a gentle whisper, God can, and does, use all of his creation to speak. The key is: God is speaking to you.
I had a camper once, when I was a small group leader at Indianola, who used the following metaphor: Learning to hear God is like making a new friend. You give them your phone number, and they call you one day. You pick up the phone and say, “hello?” And they say, “hi, this is Jennifer, is Kathryn there?” You reply, “Hi Jennifer, this is Kathryn!” After some time has gone by, you find that when the phone rings and you answer, “hello?” your friend says, “Hi Kathryn, it’s Jennifer!” And still when more time goes by, you get to the point where you pick up the phone, saying, “hello?” and all Jennifer has to say is, “hey” and you say, “hey” back. At first, we may falter. We may need God to confirm that it is really God’s voice we’re hearing. But over time, we get to know His voice, better and better, to the point where all God has to do is say, “hey!” and He’s got our attention.
God knows each of us intimately, because he is our creator, and we are His works of art. Therefore, He is going to speak to you in the way that He knows you will be able to listen. So, unfortunately, I can’t give you a formula. I can’t tell you, “if you pray this prayer, sing this song, and read this book, then you’ll hear God.” But, I can tell you what your challenge is. You know that God is speaking to you, so your challenge is to learn how to listen. And if you still really need a starting point, the best one I can give you is this: “be still and know that He is God,” because what better way to listen than to quiet down ourselves?
On December 1, two things happened. I left Seattle for Kansas City, Missouri, where I was going to visit Saint Paul Theological School. I had felt God leading me there, even though I didn’t exactly know why I was supposed to go, so I had followed His leading. And, it snowed. As I was packing in the morning, the phone rang. It was my dad, who was saying that he thought that we should leave a little earlier than planned for the airport, and before he could finish his sentence, I looked out the window and saw that it was snowing. Gigantic, cotton-like snowflakes were drifting beautifully to the ground.
I was, quite frankly, devastated. Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE snow. And, living in this beautiful Pacific Northwest, we really don’t get much of it. We get two, MAYBE three good snows a year. So, here I was packing to leave for the much colder, much drier Kansas City, and the snow falling outside had the promise of bringing everything I love about the snow. All the forecasters were predicting that it was going to reach two inches, and stick for a few days. I had been eagerly anticipating the first snow—making plans for all the wonderful things I would do. I would play with my dog in it, build a snowman with my sister, take a walk with my camera. I watched the snow falling, with the promise of all these things, as I packed to leave. I was so devastated that as I stood in front of the windows at SeaTac airport watching the snow falling, my eyes even teared up. It was something I wanted so badly, right there in front of me, and I couldn’t have it.
So, I boarded the plane, buckled my seat belt, and before I knew it we were off the ground. Somewhere, in the middle of the clouds, the thought occurred to me, “pretty soon, we’re going to be above the clouds.” Now, I fly a lot, and living in Seattle this occurrence of flying in the middle of the clouds and then rising above them isn’t a new or noteworthy thing to me—normally. But that day it occurred to me that I would not only be above the clouds, I would be above the snow.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, I saw a burst of light here and there as we reached the top of the clouds. And eventually we reached the top of the clouds, and as we rose above the very top layer, beautiful, bright sunlight filled the cabin of the plane. I looked out the window to see a beautiful blue sky, with a few patchy clouds hanging off in the distance, and the dark gray snow clouds below me. And it occurred to me, that I was blessed to be one of the few Seattlites who would get to see the snow that day. Most of those people down there wouldn’t see the sun at all today, because they were down under the clouds, where it was snowing.
And truly, that’s where I wanted to be—down in that snow. Playing in it with my dog and my sister, taking a picture walk, enjoying the beauty of it. I didn’t want to be in the sunshine, I wanted to be in the snow! But God had something better for me. In that moment, God wanted me above the snow.
It also occurred to me that light is a very common and strong symbol for God. And what stronger image of light is there than the sun? The sunlight filling the plane cabin was like a metaphor for God’s light filling my life, even as I sacrificed what I wanted. I gave it up, but I was above it, quite literally, and I was in God’s presence as a result.
It did turn out that being at Saint Paul Theological School was exactly where I needed to be that weekend. I met some great people, learned some local history, and got some great pictures. But more importantly, I got a chance to see how seminaries work in general, and Saint Paul specifically, and it really helped me discern my call and where I need to go next year. So, there’s no doubt in my mind that that’s where I needed to be. God didn’t just have something “different” for me than what I wanted. He had something better.
As we look toward the New Year, we have a sense of a clean slate, a fresh start. We have goals, hopes, dreams—we have resolutions. But God very often has a surprising way of sweeping us off the ground, into a better, more perfect situation for us. When we turn our life over to him we find blessings around every corner and every day can be a new adventure. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to hear God’s voice—so that when He speaks, we will go with His leading. Sometimes we are right in line with God’s desires for us; for instance, perhaps God wants just as much as we do for us to work hard at what we do and to spend time with our loved ones. Other times, like when I wanted to be in the snow, God has other, better plans. They may require a sacrifice on our part, but they are always, ALWAYS worth it. As you enter into this New Year carrying all of your hopes, dreams, goals, and resolutions with you, please also take an openness to the possibility of God sweeping you up, off the ground, away from your own ideals, above the snow.
Amen.