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As I started to write this post, the words I typed felt strangely familiar under my fingertips. I checked, and sure enough, I wrote them before in this space last year, which just goes to show that it takes more than a new year to change a person’s mind!
The most important change I could make to my daily living began about two and a half years ago. Obviously, it wasn’t a New Year’s Resolution – in fact, it wasn’t a resolution at all, at least not in a traditional sense. I’d say it was more of a transformation.
That change was when God prompted me to pray and read the Bible each and every day. Putting God first in my day – literally before the busyness or nonsense that so easily spirits away what time I can give Him – wasn’t easy then, and it still isn’t. I never made a dramatic statement or decision or promise to ‘do quiet time,’ but rather a daily choice to listen to that still small voice over the multitudes of louder but lesser ones.
As you might predict, change happened gradually. Still, less than three years into a store of riches I could never exhaust in a lifetime, I know where to find specific verses more than before. My prayers are enriched with Scriptures, and when asked for advice, it’s easier than it had been to refer to the wisdom in His Word. These changes didn’t come from a burst of resolve, but from a steady learning over time.
If you’ve received a prompt to make a change, I pray the Lord will work steadily in your life and bring about that transformation. As Romans 12:2 instructs us, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
To all of you, Happy New Year!
