Many prepare for the new year with celebrations, while others prepare New Year’s resolutions which sometimes will last anywhere from one week to an entire month. But what can we do to really prepare for a new year? We all know that we should grow in our walk with God, value our families more and accept the challenge to be a better person. But all other items are so far down on the list that we struggle to move beyond these priorities. However, it is the accomplishment of these priorities that puts the matters of each year in proper perspective.
Ike Reighard wrote an article entitled, “Four Important Friends That Every Pastor Needs.” As I read the piece, it occurred to me that these four friends will be beneficial to us all as we move into the new year. For many of you, this last year has included a combination of delight, disappointment and discouragement. Some are happy to set foot into 2024 and others are uncertain about what another year holds in store.
The Developer
As you start your year with new relationships, look for a Developer. This is someone who will help in your spiritual development. This is the individual who brings out the best in you, who simply cares for you. As you get older, it is important to have such a person in your life. If you are fortunate enough to be married to one of them, you are indeed blessed. Developers dare to encourage you when no one else will. They will tell you that you can make it if you try, after everyone else has given you a dozen reasons why you cannot. We all need a friend who believes in us!
The Designer
For 2024, you will also need a Designer. This is the person who is a mentor. They impart words of inspiration. They can always find a word in Scripture or life lessons which are able to remind you that you are never the only one who has experienced a particular ordeal. This person also reminds you of two things: 1. You were not an accident in the eyes of God, and 2. God has a plan for your life! These are two simple-but-powerful truths!
The Disturber
The next friend is the Disturber. This person may utilize one or both of the previous skills. What makes the disturber important is that he or she will challenge you when you fall short in your abilities, realize your shortcomings and even drift into wayward thinking. They remind you to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going instead of laying in the pool of self-pity. They dare to ask questions that shift your perspective to, What is God trying to teach me during this moment in time? Sometimes we’ve been slow learners and have wasted time — all because there has been no disturber in our life to cause us to ask the question.
The Discerner
The final friend is the Discerner. Although it has been appropriate to summarize the thoughts behind the developer, designer and disturber, there is no better way to describe the discerner than in Reighard’s own words:
“In a lifetime of relationships, perhaps only a handful of people are willing to play this vital role because it requires mutual vulnerability. More popularly known as accountability partners, discerners bring the gift of spiritual insight into our lives. They know how to speak the truth in love. They know how to exhort and rebuke, seeking to keep their friend on the right track. They are also vulnerable — the true friends who will walk into the room of your life while everyone else is walking out.”
Ike Reighard, “Four Important Friends That Every Pastor Needs”
I’m not asking you to forsake any other goals that you’ve set for 2024. I’m merely suggesting that you include the pursuit of these four friends in your list of objectives. These friends will be the glue, cement and motivation for accomplishing any other goals that you set!
The very best to you and yours as you don this new year! As you seek out these friends this year, make yourself available to be one of these friends. You may be fortunate enough to help someone else along their journey!
Article by Dr. L.W. Edwards
0 Comments