By Sarah Hogue, Director of Children’s Ministry
Happy new year! Two and a half weeks into 2022, I wonder: how are you doing with your resolutions? If you are like me, perhaps you have taken some small steps toward your goals, but you feel like you are a long way from fulfilling them.
I recently heard a devotion that referenced Jesus’ baptism. After being immersed in the Jordan River, Jesus came up out of the water. As he did so, God’s Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove. Jesus’ act of coming up out of the water was a small motion that was reciprocated with a large motion by God. Jesus moved a couple of feet in the direction of heaven. Heaven came all the way to earth to meet Jesus at that moment. The point of the devotion was that when we take even a small step towards God, God meets us where we are.
When I think about the new year and all of the opportunities it brings, I often set goals for myself: losing weight, being more organized, finding a better balance with all of life’s demands. I feel like if I can just get started in the right direction, then suddenly my bad habits from the past will cease to exist, and everything will fall into place. Then I get a hard dose of reality the first time I fail. I do not complete everything on my “to-do” list for the day. I don’t stick to my diet. A moment of relaxation takes over an entire day, and productivity takes a back seat.
At these times, it is easy to feel like I have messed up and my goals are now beyond my reach. When this happens, I am tempted to give up on the goal altogether. Rather than focus on the small steps I have taken in the right direction, all I can see is the long distance between me and fulfilling my goals.
That is not the perspective we should bring to our relationship with God. God honors our small steps and meets us where we are. God does not have an all-or-nothing attitude when it comes to our relationship with Him. To be sure, God desires us to put Him first, but He will come closer to us with any small step we take. When we make the slightest turn toward heaven, meager as it might be, God responds by descending to us, and meeting us where we are.
So amidst all of your goals for the new year, taking a few small steps toward a closer relationship with God is a worthy goal in which you cannot fail. Even if you are not consistent, God is faithful to meet you in the midst of your inconsistency. He is ready to come down and be with you. Every small step counts when you are moving toward Jesus.
Dutilh Church 