Friday Fight 194: Redirecting or Reflecting?

Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF194.

As the new year began, how many of us had lists of tasks to complete or goals to attain to enhance a spiritual, physical, or emotional area of our lives? I heard many people reference becoming closer to God, along with having educational goals, improving physical health, and attaining financial freedom. Most of us begin to embrace the coming year with these intentions, but oftentimes, we get interrupted by life. Still, goals vary in priority and ability to complete, leaving the others seldom addressed. What if God has a list for us to consider?

Redirecting or Reflecting?

This time of year, people are eager to welcome the new, while looking back is seen as counterproductive. Honestly, it depends on our mindset and intent. We never want to be so busy applying something new, hopefully redirecting our spiritual walk, that we neglect any areas previously revealed by God. Anything new, even something of high priority, can quickly become a spiritual hindrance if we are not careful.

Looking back at 2024, how many of us received gentle instructions from the Holy Spirit that still require our surrender? Maybe we listened and intended to obey but got busy or didn't understand what was revealed to our hearts. The reality is that nothing we add to strengthen our relationship with God in 2025 will be as crucial as learning first to surrender. Proverbs 16:3 shows us that when we surrender our goals to God, our plan is established by Him and aligns with His truth.

Surrendering is a continual process in which we experience joy and prosperity in His higher purpose. While planning to attend a new group at church or begin a different devotional book is great, let's look at some other things we can add to our prayer list. Avoiding the rinse-and-repeat cycle of our lives means focusing intently on what God asks of us rather than repeating what we believe will help us grow. Consider reflecting on the following areas from 2024, then pray about which one still requires our surrender:

Considerations:

1. Pray for (what has God asked us to pray for, and we stopped)

2. Begin (what did God birth in us that never grew because of our lack of faith)

3. Remove (what did God ask us to remove altogether; perhaps we failed to try, believing it was too difficult)

4. Address (this is an area God requested we address before it became bigger; handle it now)

5. Include/exclude (who did the Holy Spirit gently ask us to include/exclude from our lives to strengthen our spiritual well-being and stability?) God will purposefully remove people for our growth.

6. Stop (what were we asked to stop that we do as a reaction to hurt or defense) This is separate from removal because it functions as a trigger response.

7. Apply (what has God asked us to apply to our lives that we haven't, i.e., prayer with the family, a tradition of memorizing Scripture, or a particular book that becomes generational)

These are not corrections; instead, they are presented as considerations. We may have had every intention to address something God revealed, but for whatever reason we never fully surrendered. Maybe we doubted our hearing or were too broken or ashamed to do what God was asking. Reflecting on areas to consider in 2024 does not mean we are going backward, which is how Satan wants us to feel. Instead, it is an opportunity for continued growth. We always move in God's direction whenever we strengthen our desire to surrender to His will.

Pastor Shannon

New Life River Church