Serving God in the New Year

It’s New Year’s Day, the beginning of a brand new year. A new start, just think what you can do different this year to have a better year. I assume you know you are not here by chance but do you know what you are here for?

God chose you to be here in this moment of time, by his design, for his purpose and his hand has molded you into the person you are today. He doesn't compare you to anyone else because you are like no one else. You were created as a unique special creature, specifically designed to serve him and lack nothing. You are capable to doing any task he sets before you. With this in mind, have you been serving the Lord?

If your answer was yes, congratulations! Are you going to continue serving God the same way or are you up for a change? What do you feel he is calling you to do differently? Is there a place you could serve that better suits your personal gifts? Sometimes we just help out when we are asked and it is not necessarily in an area where we excel. Pray about it; ask the Lord where he wants you this year and then when you are sure of your answer, pursue it with his blessing.

If your answer was no, there is no reason to be upset by it, you are in the majority. People tend to get busy with their own lives and tend to forget about everything else, so you are not alone. Just make it your intention to do something different this year. That’s what New Year’s is all about, resolving to do things differently this time around. We can all be better at something, not one of us is perfect. But this time of year is a great time to reflect and evaluate our lives and change our focus.

If God hasn't been your focus in the past, it may be time to change things. Life is shorter than any of us can imagine, time just seems to continue to fly by. Our lives can get away from us if we are not living intentionally. I have experienced this myself, you get busy with the day to day battles of survival and the next thing you know the summers over and the kids are going back to school. You no sooner get them outfitted for school and they need winter boots, hats and gloves. Then Christmas is here and then the days never stop. They just keep on going and you look up and what you meant to accomplish never materialized.

Sometimes, I believe I live on a wing and a prayer, but I continue to live everyday just the same. Somehow, God gives me everything I need, not necessarily everything I want but everything I truly need. It is only right that I pay that forward in some way to someone else when I can. Be it in encouraging others to hold the course or give a gift of my time and special abilities.

No matter how tight our budgets, all of us have something of value to offer our fellow man even if it is just our time. There are many lonely people out there that just want someone to talk to or need to feel special in some way, to know that someone cares about them and acknowledge they still have value. It doesn't cost a lot to stop by and visit an elderly person or help out with a task they can no longer accomplish on their own. You don’t have to be an adult to give to others; children are blessed with much more time and energy than most adults. Anyone can rake a yard, help to prepare a meal or just stop to chat. There are a million ways to serve God simply by caring for others.

Jesus said “What you do for the least of you, you do for me.” It doesn't have to be in a church setting or through a church ministry. You can serve the Lord all by yourself, if you choose and it better suits your schedule. No matter how you choose to serve God, serve him. Make this the year that God becomes your priority and serving him becomes your joy. That’s the reward we get on earth for serving him, at least for me. I begin to feel love for the person I am serving and they return that feeling back to me. It can develop into wonderful relationships that I would have missed out on otherwise. It is truly a blessing to both parties and well worth our time.

I hope this has given you some new ideas on how to serve the Lord. I encourage you to make this your year to focus on serving God.  The Lord may bless you in ways you have never known.