Setting Aside Time Before the New Year to Reflect on God’s Work in 2022
Grace McCready
I have a folder full of notes that I’ve written about how God has worked in my life—prayers that He has answered, lessons that He is teaching me, and things that He has spoken to me through Scripture, prayer, people, and experience. Sure, it’s great to record these things and hold onto them. But truth be told, I rarely look back at the notes that I’ve made and reflect on how God has been working in my life. I simply keep stuffing my folder.
That’s why my New Year’s resolution is to set aside a specific time (before the end of the year) to reflect on the ways that God has worked in my life in 2022.
Time to Open up the Folder
I’ve shared the flaws in my quiet time before, and I can admit that my quiet time needs some work. My current quiet time flaw is that I hurry through my quiet time. Yes, I sit down in the morning before work, open up my Bible, and scribble a prayer in my journal before I rush off to work. And then I don’t think about my relationship with God until the next morning when I have my quiet time.
But I don’t want 2022 to end with a mad rush to the finish line. Rather, I want 2022 to end with meditation and gratitude. Thus, this post was born. And, in a way, so was my New Year’s resolution—for 2022.
A Different Kind of New Year’s Resolution
I realize that people typically make New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of the year, not the end of the year. And I realize that it’s the end of 2022. But this is the perfect time to reflect on the highs and lows of 2022 because it’s the end of the year.
The Bible is full of verses about forgetting and remembering. I was honestly getting overwhelmed trying to choose a Bible passage for this post because there were so many search results when I typed in “forget” and “remember” on Bible Gateway. But this passage from Deuteronomy really struck me:
Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. (Deuteronomy 8:11-14 NASB1995)
Remembering God’s goodness and faithfulness isn’t a new concept; it’s something that He has been instructing His children to do for thousands of years. When we slip into unhealthy habits (like rushing through our quiet time), we tend to overlook (and even forget) key aspects of God’s character—like His goodness and faithfulness. So, as 2022 comes to a close, I hope you’ll consider joining me in a time of reflection. Let’s remember all the ways that God has worked in 2022 so that we can enter 2023 with readiness and expectancy.
Practical Suggestion:
My only application point for you is this: do the reflective New Year’s resolution with me! Set aside a time (when you won’t have to rush) and find a quiet place (where you won’t be distracted by a lot of noise and activity) to reflect on 2022—specifically on the ways that God has worked in your life during the past year. Read through your Quiet Time Companion to see the recorded prayers and praises. Think back to some of the ups and downs that happened earlier in the year. Re-read some of the Scripture passages that you read throughout the year and observe how your perspective on them has changed. The purpose of this reflective activity is simply to remember how God has worked in your life in 2022 and express your gratitude for His goodness and faithfulness.
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Grace McCready enjoys spending time with her family, hanging out with friends, and watching her favorite TV shows. She is the author of Real Recovery: What Eating Disorder Recovery Actually Looks Like (2022). She shares her struggles on her blog, Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth. |