New Year’s (Spiritual) Diet
Hey Friends, and Happy New Year!
This day always brings a lot of thoughts. It's a new year, and that means I can start some new things, right?
Millions are making plans for their health. I can exercise more, eat healthier, or maybe just eat less.
One thing none of us are deciding today, though, is whether or not we'll eat.
Our question in this new year is what we'll eat and how much, but not if we'll eat.
And so it is with our spiritual lives. The question is not if you'll have a spiritual diet this year, but what kind of spiritual diet you'll have.
Will you feast on the hopes, powers, stories, and identities this world offers?
Or will you plan a healthy diet of living with God?
Last Fall we talked about 6 rhythms of our life with God: Scripture, Prayer, Gathering, Generosity, Rest, and Witness.
These are rhythms because they happen regularly and repeatedly in our lives as we walk with God daily.
These rhythms give structure to thinking about your spiritual diet in this new year.
If you wake up each day and ask, "What will I do to walk with God today?" then you're just making it less likely that you'll actually walk with Him.
Don't leave each day up to chance, up to a spur of the moment plan, or up to what you happen to have time for after the rest of your day is planned.
You can go into this new year with a plan that takes your real life into account.
To start, spend some time praying through these rhythms.
Don't worry about starting a plan today, January 1. Instead, make your goal to spend January praying and thinking through your rhythms. Spend some time this month trying some things out to see if they work for you.
Take into account the reality of your life:
Do you work from home?
Do you travel for work?
Do you have young kids?
Are you a morning or night person?
Take these rhythms before God and simply pray, "God, how can I live with you in these ways?"
But also take these rhythms before others. Make these the topic of your conversations with brothers and siters, share ideas, encourage one another, pray for one another, and see where God leads.
Last, I'm here for you! It brings me so much joy to talk with you all about what it looks like to walk with God in your daily life. That's quite literally my job as a pastor: to shepherd you all in your life with God.
Throughout January, I'll write more on how we can adopt these rhythms in our daily lives.
For now, I hope you see that you will have a spiritual diet this year, the only question is what kind of diet you'll have.
I love you all!
In Christ,
Jonny Day