Part 4 - Mining for Truth
"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." - Psalm 139:23-24
"Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord." - Lamentations 3:40
Insight
Reflection is the practice of slowing down long enough to notice what's actually been happening in our lives, both on the surface and in the deeper places of our hearts. In our fast-paced world, we often move from one experience to the next without pausing to ask the deeper questions: What is God showing me? How am I changing? What patterns am I noticing? Where is love being expressed and received?
This isn't the kind of reflection that leads to self-condemnation or endless analysis. Instead, it's the loving practice of holding up our experiences to the light of God's truth and asking, "What can I learn here? How has God been present? What is He inviting me to notice or change?" It's reflection that leads to transformation, not just information.
As you look back on this year, you're not trying to grade your spiritual performance or create a ledger of successes and failures. You're mining for gold—looking for the ways God has been at work, the lessons He's been teaching, the growth He's been cultivating, and the love He's been expressing through both the beautiful and broken moments of your year.
Effective reflection requires both honesty and grace. Honesty means being willing to see clearly—acknowledging where you've grown and where you've stumbled, recognizing patterns that serve you and patterns that don't, identifying areas where God's love has transformed you and areas where you're still learning to receive it. Grace means holding all of this with the same compassion that God holds it with—knowing that growth is a process, that setbacks are part of the journey, and that His love for you isn't dependent on your spiritual report card.
Some of the most profound reflection happens when we look at our disappointments and difficulties through the lens of God's sovereignty and love. What felt like detours may have been divine redirections. What seemed like setbacks may have been setups for breakthrough. What appeared to be God's absence may have actually been His invitation to trust Him in new ways.
Reflection also involves discerning the difference between love received and love withheld, both from God and from others. Where have you experienced God's love in tangible ways this year? Where have you struggled to receive it? How have you expressed love to others, and where might fear or self-protection have kept you from loving well? These aren't questions for self-condemnation, but for deeper understanding and future growth.
The goal of reflection isn't to figure everything out or to reach perfect conclusions about every experience. Sometimes the most honest thing we can say is, "I don't understand this yet, but I trust that God was present and working even when I couldn't see it." The goal is simply to pay attention, to notice, to stay awake to the ways God has been loving you and leading you throughout the year.
Journaling Questions
As you look back on this year, where do you most clearly see God's hand at work in your life, and where has it been harder to recognize His presence?
What patterns do you notice in how you receive love from God and others, and what barriers might be preventing you from receiving more fully?
How have difficult or disappointing experiences this year shaped your understanding of God's character and His love for you?
In what ways have you grown in your ability to express love to others, and where do you sense God inviting you to love more courageously?
What themes or lessons keep surfacing as you reflect on this year, and how might God be using these to prepare you for what's ahead?