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New (School) Year, New Me

New Year, New Me, right?

We tell ourselves this mantra on January 1st each year and use it as motivation for all of our new goals. Many of us carry this mentality into the new school year, too.

There’s a reason this mantra has become so popular over the years. People want a fresh start.

Sadly, it’s easy for new goals and their motivation to fizzle out after a while. When that happens, we’re disappointed that we could not do what we set out to do. So how do we make things different? How can we make sure this year is different than last year?

We want to be different by doing things differently or new things, but without actually BEING different, we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment.

If we look at the life of Jesus, we can learn how to overcome this motivational burnout.

Before He began His public ministry, Jesus went to John the Baptist to be baptized.

What happened when He came out of the water? The sky opened, and God the Father said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” From that place of being, Jesus was able to save the world.

You see, everything Jesus does comes from who He is. Everything flows out of Him because He knows in the deepest parts of His heart that He is God’s Son, and God is pleased with Him; before He ever did anything!

The key is this: if you want things to go differently, you can’t just DO different; you need to BE different. We go about change all wrong: we try to work hard at being something different. Instead, we should try to remember the simple truth that we are children of God, and He is well pleased with us. You chose to change and accept Him into your life. Now it’s time to be who He says you are.

THINK ABOUT IT! What are you trying to do differently this year?

REFLECT! Who does God say you are?

PRAY! Jesus, help me remember I am a child of God. Let everything I do this school year come from being who you called me to be. Let the “New Me” everyone sees point back to You.