The #1 Question you Need To Ask The Holy Spirit Right Now…
Listen, I know you're busy this time of year.
Getting the decorations up, shopping and then wrapping presents, baking cookies and taking care of whatever unique family traditions you have during this beautiful season..
I don't know about you, but I typically feel closer to God and more open to his messages in this season. Maybe it's because as Christians we shift our focus to Emmanuel, God With Us.
That presents us with a unique opportunity. If we truly are more open, it would be a great time to ask Him important questions don't you think?
So during the next Christmas task you have, when you are sort of able to put your body on “autopilot” (you’re moving but you don’t really need to focus a lot, like rolling cookies or showering for example) ask the Holy Spirit this question:
What are the biggest lessons You want me to take away from this past year?
You might be thinking "Dorothy, isn't this a New Year's exercise?”
Honestly, I think that's too late. We need to be contemplating this way before December 31st.
Christmas can be an absolute whirlwind between the gifts, guests, gathering and glitter.
Before we've even fully recovered from it, New Year's Eve comes right on the heels of Christmas. Then it's the new year. It feels too late to list the lessons we learned from our year because we're trying to navigate a new one.
And we might be trying to navigate it by goalposts God doesn’t even want us to have!!
If you want true spiritual growth in the next year, you have to allow the Holy Spirit time to be brutally honest with you.
REAL growth starts when we stop sweeping our weaknesses and mistakes under the rug and start bringing them to the foot of the Cross and asking the Holy Spirit how He wants to change it.
Failure isn't dangerous. But not learning from it is.
God knew of every mistake, every triumph, every battle before it showed up in your life. So take ALL of it to him and ask Him how He wants you to view this past year and what lessons you need to take with you into the coming year and beyond.
What went RIGHT this year? (God also wants us to celebrate our WINS with Him!!)
What went wrong?
Where did I grow?
Where do I NEED to grow?
How can all of this apply to my year ahead?
If you've been reading my latest posts, I'm pretty sure you know the biggest takeaway God has had for me from this past year:
Between what should have been a fatal car crash, and then my husband hitting a deer only a few days later, the message is:
Dorothy, you have NO time to live in apathy and neither does any other believer.
Psalm 90:12
Teach us to number our days that we may enter the heart of wisdom.
Friend, I implore you. Give the Holy Spirit space to speak to you about the takeaways He wants you to have from the past 12 months.
I know you might be thinking, “Dorothy, whenever I sit down and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to me like this nothing happens.”
I get it. Your mind is so busy and distracted. It feels like you don't hear from Him at all.
But sometimes, the brain and heart has the ability to get quiet when your body is busy…
So like I said, the next time you're doing something where you can accomplish it on autopilot, before you start… ask the Holy Spirit what He wants you to take away from this past year.
Do it more than once over the next few weeks.
The Holy Spirit wants to communicate with you. But you have to give Him the space to do so.
God knows what you will face January through December of next year…what if He wants to impart wisdom, strategy and strength right now so you already have what you need when you face next year’s challenge?
Take the time to ask…and then listen. Be like Samuel, “Speak LORD, your servant is listening…”(1 Samuel 3:9-10)
In passionate purpose,
Dorothy
PS: If you REALLY want to take this to the next level, ask a few people you love what they think the Holy Spirit wants them to learn from this past year and share your takeaways with them as well. Forward this to them! Start up some powerful conversations that will grow you both!
Grab my 5-day devotional on having more purpose so you don’t have an unfocused new year!