5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. ~ 2 Corinthians 13:5-6
Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to examine themselves. We don’t often do this in our society today. We push sayings like, ‘accept me for me,’ ‘don’t change for anyone,’ ‘this is just the way I am,’ and in doing so, we never grow. I’m not saying that we should become a completely different person so someone will like us, but we must become completely different from our sinful nature so that we may become one with Christ.
Every New Year, we set goals and resolutions that we want to reach in the New Year, so why not take the time this New Year to spiritually evaluate yourselves as Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to do so long ago.
Take some time to evaluate and reevaluate your life and who you have become. Do some soul searching to see if who you are matches who God originally created you to be. Evaluate your reaction to things and situations. Do an honest self-examination every other day or at least once a week to see if you are growing. Compare your life and your decisions to the Biblical standard God has raised for each and every one of us.
Ask yourself honest questions:
How do you deal with stressful situations?
How are you handling tense situations?
Have you let go of the past?
Are you holding any grudges?
Do you return an eye for an eye?
Did you react with a Christ-like attitude?
You won’t magically change overnight, but by the grace of God, you will change by the constant renewal of your mind. Make a conscious effort to not allow the things that angered you last year to anger you this year. Believe that the things that flustered you last year, you have now overcome and conquered this year. For the God that has all things under His feet resides in you.
LORD God, help me to strengthen my weak points. Help me to guard my thoughts and words so that my actions may be pleasing and acceptable to You. Help me to always remember that I have become the Temple of the Living God the day that I accepted You, LORD Jesus, as LORD of my life. Help me to move forward in this New Year and to grow spiritually, emotionally, and physically in You. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.
Similar Content
