As we draw our Christmas celebrations to a close and I take down the decorations for another year, I’m thinking about Epiphany (January 6th) that remembers the visit of the wise men from the East. Here are my three personal desires, inspired by them, that I want to take with me into 2022.
More Awake to God’s Presence
These Magi were watching and they noticed the star. I’m asking God to help me be more present to him in the coming year, to take time to use all my senses. During the lockdowns I rediscovered the beauty of nature – I saw and noticed so much more. I don’t want to lose that! Christmas fragrances like cinnamon and cloves and evergreens are passing, but already I’m looking forward to the scent of the spring hyacinth. Yes, I want to appreciate the natural world and spread the beauty and aroma of Christ. We lost the joy of touch and some lost their sense of taste during this pandemic. How we appreciate these senses when we get them back! Let’s taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), and let’s get back to hugging each other as soon as we can.
Mostly, though, I want to be still enough to hear the whisper of God and be willing to follow.
More Anchored in his Word
Experiencing God with my senses will never be enough, just like noticing the star and even following it, wasn’t enough for the Magi. To find Jesus, their search had to be anchored in the Scriptures. These Persian sages would have been aware of the prophesies of Daniel who more than 500 years before had been chief of this priestly tribe. Perhaps they read other Jewish writings like Balaam’s word about a star to mark the birth of the king of the Jews (Numbers 24:17), and the scripture from Micah 5:2 was important to locate the baby in Bethlehem.
If I’m not living in the Word of God, or only focusing on my favourite verses and passages, it’s easy to start to make God in my own image instead of the other way round. So, I’m pressing on with my reading plan covering the Old and New Testaments, because I want to keep exposing myself to the ‘whole counsel of God’.
More Adaptable to Change
God interrupted the plan of the Magi and ‘led them home by another way’ (Matthew 2:12). We don’t know what 2022 will look like. The future is as uncertain as ever with a crippled NHS and a struggling economy, and that’s just here in the UK. Global problems abound. Change seems to be accelerating. I want to be teachable, amenable to interruptions to my plans and adaptable to however God may lead. May we all –
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths”(Proverbs 3:5-6).
Lenna’s Blog 
Another great contribution to your blog site Lenna. The Lord has given you a wonderful gift in communicating insightful truths and such thought-provoking stuff for visitors to your site.
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Thanks Barry. X
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