Core scripture: “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.” (Ephesians 5:23)

Message: I awoke early for my quiet time yesterday not knowing what God wanted me to do.  To be honest, I have been in quite a rut recently, doing almost the same thing every morning.  I went to the Lord in prayer, asking His guidance.

I opened YouTube on my phone to watch the last half of a sermon my friend sent me.  YouTube was down.  I tried it on my Surface Pro.  Something must have been going on with the Wi-Fi because it was still down.  I tried opening my e-mail to read my daily devotion from FCA. 

Nothing.

God was closing doors left and right!  But I felt a gentle nudge from Him to get out my journal and write.  Write I did for about 40 minutes.  It was a self-reflection.  An in depth analysis of where I was and where God was leading me in the new year.  One word began to emerge from my writing.

Leadership.

I am a pretty soft spoken guy.  Especially in my family.  My wife rules the roost, and many times I find myself following her lead.  Then I look at Ephesians 5:22-24: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”

Convicting, huh?

As my wife and I lay down in bed last night, I shared with her what I wrote about.  She smiled shyly and admitted that she beats to her own tune, not being the easiest person in the world to lead.  I nodded and prayed a quick prayer over her.  It was a small step in the right direction.  Will this new word be easy to embrace?  Without a doubt, no.  But with God’s help, I am willing to give it a try.

What about you?  Where do you need to go in 2021?  What word is God laying on your heart to focus on?  I challenge you to find that word and begin to create some New Year’s resolutions around it.  Let it stretch you, growing you spiritually.  Find someone to hold you accountable to it, and begin the new year with your chin held high. 

Challenge: Go to God in prayer and ask Him what word you want to focus on in 2021.  Pray about it.  Journal about it.  Write some achievable goals down that you can strive for.  Share your words for 2021 in a reply below.  I would love to hear what God is doing in your lives!

Prayer points: Lift up the following areas to God.

• Pray for God to reveal a word you can focus 2021 on.
• Pray for your students to finish the semester strong.
• Pray for students with rough home lives to be safe over Christmas Break.

Just for fun: The bored teachers are at it again!  Check out this video titled “Teachers During the Week Before Winter Break.”

Prayer: Lord, help me transition into the new year with purpose and pride in You.  Lead me where You need me to go with a word that will stretch me.  Amen.