9 Sing to God, sing praises to him;
dwell on all his wondrous works!
Reflection
It’s that time again, when we look at the close of one year and enter into a new year of the unlimited possibility of God’s Kin-dom. How will God’s Spirit be at work in our lives this year? Many of us may be glad to see the end of 2024 and happy to move on into 2025, while many of us may look at the arrival of 2025 with growing trepidation. Where ever you are in entering this new year, know that God is with you throughout this journey.
We usually start the new year by making plans and resolutions to be better and accomplish more. We want to “get healthy” eat more nutritious food, lose weight, get eight hours of sleep, (is that even really possible?), and spend “quality time” with our loved ones. Most of our resolutions start strong and fade with the daily demands of just trying to get through our over
scheduled and demanding days. So what’s the answer to our good intentioned resolutions most of us can’t begin to keep? Maybe it’s that we’re focusing on the wrong things. It’s not that all those things are unimportant, they are important to our health and well being, but what’s missing from the list is our spiritual life, our relationship with God and continuing to
grow as disciples of Jesus.
There’s a saying, “What you focus on grows.” The writer of our scripture knew that it’s from our relationship with God that everything else flows into our life. When we focus on God’s faithfulness in our lives, our faith grows. When we focus on God with singing hymns and songs of praise, we experience the countless blessings that God has poured into our lives this past
year. When we focus on talking about what God has done for us, and sharing with others all that God has done for us, our sense of community grows and others come to know Jesus in their lives. And when we focus on God’s love for us, we become God’s love in action in this world, and the Kin-dom of God moves a bit closer. This new year, let’s focus on God.
by Jeneene Reduker
For Pondering and Prayer
This new year, what are you focused on right now? How can you shift your focus during each day to make time to focus on God? Today, turn on some Christian music and sing along out loud, praising God. Take some time, and make a list of all that God has done for you this year. Share your list with others and tell them all that God has done for you.
Prayer: Holy and loving God, thank you for all that you have done for us this past year and be with us as we begin our journey into the new year. Help us to remember that you are the focus of our lives and to share your love with others every day. Amen.
