The Israelites walked in circles in the wilderness for forty years, even though they were only eleven miles from the Promised Land. We might not be physically walking in circles, but we can find ourselves going round the same habits and thought patterns time and time again. God said to the Israelites: ‘You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north.’ And maybe as we head into the New Year, it’s time for us to turn a different way too. Maybe we need to break a habit that we’ve been trapped by. Maybe we need to think about the things we believe about ourselves and see whether they need to be changed to the truth. Just because we’ve always lived a certain way, or always believed certain thoughts about ourselves, doesn’t mean it always has to be that way. But it’s not enough to just want to change. We have to actually make changes in our lives to ensure we’re not going round in circles any longer. That can feel scary. When we’ve lived a certain way for a long period of time, it can feel uncomfortable to do something different. We might feel weak and unable to make the changes we need to, but we can say the same words as Paul: ‘I can do all this through him who gives me strength’ (Philippians 4:13 NIV). We’ll be more likely to stick to our changes if we have a clear idea of God’s vision for our lives. The Bible says: ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’ (Proverbs 29:18 KJV). We need to ask God to give us a vision for our lives, and then ask for the courage to step out of our cycles and into that vision. 

What Now?

Take some time today to think about the negative cycles you have in your life. Write down one change you would like to make in 2020, and ask God to give you the strength and courage to do it.