Resolutions. Goals. Yes, there are some positive things about looking ahead and seeing what you want to change in the new year. But I want to come at 2025 from another angle, not resolutions or goals, but needs. In my spiritual direction work, I find these three needs universal, yet many men are unaware of them as needs. More importantly, they land us right in the center of the story of redemption, the story of the Bible.
Each of these needs starts not with a resolution, but a realization – a life-changing one. Here they are.
Need 1: To experience that God is with you.
This is extraordinarily simple. A three-year old can get it, yet the reality of God’s presence can feel elusive. Still it is the underpinning for every page of the Bible: God is present. He is here. He is not distant.
But what we can easily fall into is a functional deism. God is there, but He’s off somewhere and left it to us to carry on in this world. I call it functional because it’s not what we might say we believe, but we function in life that way. It’s light years away from the biblical story, and this is what gets us into trouble.
In fact, this is the trouble. God’s living presence is our life and being. It’s our healing. To walk away from it repeats the ancient story of the fall. It’s where shame and sin enter, where pride and evil dominate. But in our deep hearts, we experience this loss of His presence this way: “I am all alone in life.”
So how do you tune into God’s presence? One way is to sit in silence with a verse from the Bible, like Ps. 23:1 or Ps. 139:1-2. Aim for 5 or 10 minutes. Push away the phone, the social media, the distractions. Let the words of Scripture roll through you as you read it repeatedly. Then be still and listen for Him.
He is literally closer to you than you are to yourself. Just let Him come close. Trust Me He will.
Need 2: To experience that God is always working.
Another fallout from the functional deism I mentioned follows from the first need. When we don’t experience His presence, we are not going to be expecting that He is at work either. But this again is another truth littered on every page of the Bible. God is always at work, redeeming, healing, and moving history toward the reign of Christ.
When we don’t experience that reality, a man stores this idea deep in his heart: “I guess I’m on my own to figure life out.” And with it comes the anxiety, the striving, the pressure to come through, and the addictions that give us momentary relief. Here’s the deal. We were not created to figure life out on our own. It’s not even possible. When a man tries to interpret life on his own, there is a 100% chance of misinterpreting it.
So how do you start to experience God’s working in you and around you? Lots of ways to approach this. Here’s a simple one. Start with gratitude. Notice all of things you have been given, for which you have done nothing, and express thanks. Seriously, start prayer by noticing 10 things for which you are grateful. Do this for a week. I guarantee it will shift your perspective.
Lack of gratitude is one of the signs of the fall. Gratitude puts us back into the heart of God.
Need 3: To experience the Father’s crazy love for you.
I don’t know how else to say this. When you come to Christ, you are the Father’s beloved son. He is crazy in love with you. He is the perfect, affirming, engaged Father who wants nothing more than for you to experience His full favor and blessing. He loves to be with you and enjoys your company. He actually likes you!
I saved this need for last because I find His love to be the fulcrum that moves so much in our hearts. It’s the heat that thaws what’s frozen, the light that dispels what’s dark. So many men come to me believing at a cognitive level that God loves them. But that’s not what they experience. What they experience is guilt, shame, and fear.
So how do you begin to experience His love for you? Again lots of ways to approach this. Here’s one. Take the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15: 11-24), read it, and then set it down. Now try to imagine yourself as that prodigal son coming home. PIcture the scene in your mind. Try to feel what it’s like to have the Father come running to you, embrace you, kiss you, and then celebrate you.
You are not just imagining. This is bedrock reality.
A Parting Shot
Jesus desires his kingdom to come on earth in the same way that it is in heaven. Did you hear that? In the same way that it is in heaven. Don’t you want to be a part of such a world-altering mission? Start by allowing God to meet these three needs. Open your heart to Him. Let Him set your heart on fire.
This is where it all begins.
Bill
