This Time Next YearSample

One of my favorite memories as a child was riding bikes with my brother. We’d ride bikes for hours down paths, down streets, cut corners, and make turns where we weren’t sure where the path led us. As a kid, we had to choose the path we rode our bikes down: one would get us lost off the beaten path with many detours & bumps, another would keep us focused & fixated on the time we had left to ride our bikes, play, and wonder. Similarly, our direction in these first few weeks of 2018 determines our destination in 2018. In life, there are two paths we choose: there’s a path that leads to LIFE or a path that leads to DEATH. Two paths: the path of wisdom & the path of foolishness. The path you choose will produce the fruit you see this year.

This time next year, where do you want to be? Who do you want to be? What type of follower of Christ, spouse, parent, and coworker do you want to be? Whatever the answers are to those questions, know this: God’s calling you to live in the NOW & start TODAY—not the THEN. 

A New Year means new opportunities: new chances to make right choices or new chances to make wrong choices. This New Year is in your hands— the enjoyment of your life is up to you and the path your life takes is up to you. God won’t choose for you— He’ll warn you, instruct you, prompt you, encourage you in the right direction, but at the end of the day, you are where you are because of the choices you made, the places you walked into, and the relationships you cultivated or destroyed. You are where you are because you either started living your “This Time Next Year” aspirations TODAY or you instead chose to stay in the THEN. The most exciting thing is: this can be your best year yet in every area of life if it’s your best year yet spiritually! 

What area in your relationships— your relationship with God, in your family, or in your marriage— is God calling you to grow in or change? Maybe God is calling you to strengthen your relationship with God, build better relationships with your family, or pursue unity among your coworkers, friends, and family. For some of you, God’s calling you to invest more into your spouse and to cultivate a healthier marriage. Just like riding my bike, no matter how much I hoped to end up somewhere awesome, my destination will always be decided by the path I choose with each and every turn and corner I cut. Andy Stanley says, “Direction, not intention, determines destination.”

Without a set path planted in God’s Word & presence and a set crew of people cheering you on as you intentionally pursue goals & aspirations in every area of your life this year, you’ll be on a path aimlessly wandering for direction, purpose, and vision. Where there is VISION, there is PROVISION.

Today, I encourage you to cast the vision for your relationships—your relationship with God, your family, your spouse, your kids, your coworkers, your brothers & sisters in Christ. This time next year, what type of follower of Christ, husband or wife, mom or dad, friend, or brother or sister do you want to be? Go for it TODAY.