What does God want to do in 2021?

Last year Emily and I sat down and made a list of things that we both felt compelled to do and what we wanted to do and then we submitted it to the Lord in prayer and asked that the items that were His will be accomplished and that we would be attuned to those items. As we went through the year, we checked off items that were addressed either through a plan we had or they were resolved through some other method. It was a nice exercise, but it has me asking another question; what does God want to do in 2021 in my life? Not what I want to do in 2021, nor what Emily wants me to do in 2021, but what does my creator want me to do? This may seem like a very difficult question to answer, but luckily I have God’s written word to me so it is not too easy to forget and very easy to find.

Life Connection Question: Get in your groups!

Looking back over the course of the past year, what event/season has had the biggest impact(good or bad) on your life, and how did God use it for your betterment?

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 •Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 (ESV)

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as •you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like •the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as •we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives •his Holy Spirit to you.

9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one

There are countless passages that reveal God’s will for us, and are good for reflection and any season and context. God’s will for your life is that you turn from our sin and rely on Him for our righteousness and to get into the process of being sanctified. This means that currently, even though we are forgiven if we have trusted in Him, we still have a bent towards taking our lives into our own hands, God’s purpose is to make for Himself a people who do not do this. And as a fellowship, we are actively moving in that direction, as God leads and guides us as a community and as individuals. I want to bring to remembrance the three areas that Buddy laid out before advent that are aimed at us being more connected to God’s plan in our lives.

Connecting With God

This is essential for life, because in God we have all that we need to be the people that he has planned for us to be. The way in which this connection is established and maintained is through personal quiet times. Prayer closet? Prayer couch? Prayer creek? Whatever it takes to pull away, preferably before you start your day, and to submit yourself to God through prayer and then to maintain that throughout the day. God is always doing something in our lives, even when we are not plugged in and we can miss what He is doing. God isn’t asking for permission to come join us in our trivial work, He is asking us to join Him in the redemption story.

Connecting With Others

The only way we can have any hope to live in right relationship with others, is if we are first in right relationship with God. And an evidence of our relationship with God is the state of our relationship with not only our brothers and sisters in Christ but also how we treat people who haven’t trusted yet. God’s goal in our relationships with other believers is to encourage each other as we accomplish the task of discipleship, but God’s goal in our relationships with nonbelievers is to invite them into God’s family through Jesus Christ. And we also believe that our address and zipcode are mere coincidences, God wants us to connect with our neighbors for the purpose of drawing them in. This year; begin to disciple at least 3 of your neighbors, establish a good relationship if possible and so much as it depends on you, live at peace with them. Most likely these people will not be selected at random by you, you may already be involved in their lives. Cultivate that relationship for God’s glory.

Connecting with The Word

It is easy to lose track of our direction as we go, especially when our lives become more difficult than normal, or we are adjusting to changes. What does not change, however, is God and His word. There are multiple ways to do this, and they are still encouraged, from reading plans, bible-centered books, historical analysis, etc. We want to connect with the word while we are here, together, through the life connection questions. This is a great time to process out-loud the teaching, and to share with others.

Let’s close with a life connection question:

How are you going to connect in all 3 of these areas this year?