Taking Assessment of Your Life
I’m sentimental and nostalgic by nature. I think about the meaning of life on a regular basis and I tend to look back on everything I have experienced up to this point almost daily. Life is an incredible gift from God and we need to keep that fact at the forefront of our minds. But I suppose that a greater portion of the world’s people come to the end of the year and they celebrate Christmas and New Year’s and quickly just go on to the next thing. After all, this is what we have been programmed to do in this fever-pitched, fast-paced 21st-century world.
But I want you to slow down for a second. I want you to take an assessment of your life with me today. As we come to the end of 2018 I want you to ask yourself about your time here and how you are using it. So please bear with me as I ask you to contemplate three simple questions:
1. Do you have a healthy understanding of and appreciation for the blessings in your life? This time of year people are so terribly depressed! I believe it is a combination of the pressure of the holidays, the weather, and the responsibility we have to our families and friends. We can let our blessings get lost in the shuffle of all of the other things that we are trying to do well that are holding our attention. So let me remind you that if you have a roof over your head, clothes on your back, and food on your table, you are truly a blessed person in this world. If we really compare what we have to what others don’t have, we will remain humble and thankful and much more positive as a whole.
2. Do you have a servant heart when it comes to your attitude towards the tasks that are before you and the people who are in your life? Jesus said that he came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. His life–his entire existence on earth–was for the purpose of helping the people of the world. Our attitude towards our employment, our responsibilities, and especially the people with whom we have daily contact really defines whether or not we are a blessing. Keeping the attitude that says, “What can I do to make another person’s life better today?” will give you a great sense of purpose and a joyful step as you make your walk in life. The attitude of gratitude leads to the attitude of servitude and it allows a person to have success in most everything they seek to do.
3. Do you have a relationship with God that truly carries you through your day? There are some who don’t know God at all. There are some who know of God and believe in him, and yet do not know him personally. There are some who believe in God and rely on him for comfort but who have never really read his book for comprehension and thus are not in tune to his will. But the person who believes in God, knows God, relies on God, listens to God, and talks to God is the person who is walking WITH God. This person has the special benefit of feeling the presence of God in every portion of their existence. Their day has peace. Their life has direction. Their disappointment has consolation. Their victory has companionship. Their soul has hope.
I don’t know about your life. I don’t know what kind of year you have had. I hope it has been a good year! I’m sure you have experienced both highs and lows in 2018. But as we come to the beginning of 2019, let me encourage you to be thankful for the year that has been, and embrace the opportunity that lies ahead. Count your blessings. Seek to serve God and others. Depend on God at all times. I think you will find that a life that is filled with these attributes is a life well worth living. And when you make your assessment, there won’t be too many things to regret, or too many things that need changing.
“Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life.” – Psalm 119:92-93
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AUTHOR: Jeremiah Tatum
