Submitted by Pastor Brad Dush, Fairfax Methodist Church

The New Year is always an interesting time of the year. Many people set out to make substantial changes in their life around physical, emotional, or spiritual practices. Which, honestly, is a good thing. Sometimes, we are successful. Other times, we are not. It might be that we start out strong, lose sight of the goals we set, and fizzle out. These three areas, physical, emotional, and spiritual, can all be understood from a perspective of seeking to be healthier in the respective area. I would like to offer some New Year’s advice on how to be healthier from a spiritual perspective. Consider Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” These are powerful words penned by Solomon. I feel they can be meaningful for us as we approach the New Year with a resolve to be spiritually healthier (a strong case could be made they can benefit us emotionally, too). 

Direction can be challenging for some. The destination is a given, spiritual health, but how do we get there? Getting somewhere, anywhere, requires a path. Oftentimes, this means we must choose a path. The text from Proverbs makes it clear that God can show us the path to take. The last part of the text states, “He will show you which path to take.” Many of us have devices we can input an address on and instantly be given two or three route options to reach our intended destination. It seems here there is one path, God’s path. That’s not to say if we stray, He can’t reroute us, but the only path to healthier spiritual practices is the path God would lay out for us. 

How can we find that path? The text tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do.” It may seem simple, but let’s break it down. The first thing we must do is trust God. Do we really trust God as we should? I can only speak for myself, but looking back, God has led me to do some things I would never have done or even attempted without His encouragement and leading. We must trust Him with all our heart, even when we don’t see it or understand. Remember, God is out in front of you, not just with some moves like a good chess player, but all the moves. Second, we need to break from depending on our understanding of the world around us. We do not have it all figured out. This is where faith can play a valuable part. Many factors limit our understanding, but we serve a limitless God who created the whole of existence. Let’s depend on His understanding. How do we do that? The B-I-B-L-E, that’s how. Read it, digest it. I heard a preacher years ago say if you want to hear God speak, read the Bible out loud, profound. Third, seek God’s will in your life. It is not about you or me; it is about God. Pray and seek His will for your life. I truly believe if we do these three things: trust, depend on God’s understanding, and seek His will for our lives, then we can know the path that leads to spiritual health, and the New Year seems as good a time as any to improve our spiritual health!