For many of us the start of a new year marks the beginning of a new season in our lives. I recently read this great quote on coming into a new season…

Before entering into a new season we must take the time to upgrade our peace and rest in the Lord. We must fully immerse ourselves in the stillness of God. We must learn to live in a place of rest in the spirit.

Resting in God should enable us to see Him in a different light. We need to constantly evaluate our relationship with Him and take a deeper look at our walk with Him. We must re-evaluate our picture of God and determine whether it is strong enough for the next stage of our life and call. Graham Cooke.

Resting in the Lord is so very important. It is where we get to be filled with His word, His love, peace and strength. We can feel His heart for us and for the new season we are about to enter into, and more importantly, when we are actually still we can listen clearly for His voice.

What does resting in the Lord look like? For me it is where I take the time to be still and be in His presence. I put everything aside and out of my mind. I begin to ask Him what it is He is doing in this new season I am about to walk into and what is it He wants me to do, how can I be a part of His great and wondrous plan.

Or it may be that I learn about His nature, who He really is. I read about His nature from the scriptures, I listen to Him speak and I learn more about Him. As I learn more about Him I can grow to become more like Him and have His very nature living inside of me. The more I have His nature, the more confident I become in the decisions I make and the steps that I take along my journey.

We must make sure, before entering into our new season that our image of God is correct. As His sons and daughters we get to live under the protection of being His child, in the safety of His love and grace and we are not all on our own. He is a perfect loving Father and each time we enter into a new season we need to make sure our image of God is just that.

We must see Him as a loving Father who protects and guides us. That He always gives His love and grace to us along with His strength, peace and wisdom. But if we do not believe that, then we begin to do things out of our own understanding and our own strength. We will begin to grow weary and possibly go off track, it is a life that we cannot sustain.

So I encourage you in the month of January to find the time to rest in the Lord, to discover more of His nature and to upgrade your image of God. These things will give you the strength and the wisdom to get you through your next season and to do it well.