Doing These 4 Things Will Absolutely Transform Your Year

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Every human body is created to crave food and water, an insatiable drive that helps our bodies survive on this planet. But as humans we are more than simply bones and sinews, skin and muscle. We have a soul, that inner part of us that will never show up on a doctor’s machine but makes us ‘us.’ It’s our personality, our thoughts, our dreams, our hopes. As humans, just as our bodies are created to crave food and water, our souls are created to crave things as well, but they go far beyond nutritional sustenance. Every human soul wants to know God, to find freedom, to discover purpose and to make a difference.

But how do you go about satisfying those four critical desires that every human soul has? It’s a lot simpler to understand how to maintain your physical health. Everyone understands that to transform your body, you need to start eating better and start exercising more. As important as transforming your body is, transforming your soul is even more vital. Yet most struggle with forming into words what their soul craves, much less how to satisfy those cravings. For your year to be transformed for the better, it’s vital not just to have knowledge but follow through (for instance, knowing you need to exercise is one thing, but getting up an hour early three days a week to go running is something entirely different). This article will help you identify not just four primary cravings every human soul has (to know God, find freedom, discover purpose and make a difference) but how to practically follow through with each of those longings. Doing these four things will absolutely transform your year.

Know God

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We are innately wired to seek our Creator. The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes says that God has placed eternity deep within all of us (Ecclesiastes 3:11). That’s the void within you, the void that humans will spend a lifetime trying to fill. And yet money, fame, power, accomplishments, even relationships won’t fully satisfy that longing within us. We were created with a craving in our soul to know God, to know the One who made us. So how can we practically begin to know God? Go to church. Churches are designed to create opportunities for you to get to know and encounter God. Now, not all churches are created equal. They are about as identical as you are to your siblings. So if you had a bad church experience, don’t write them all off. Find a church where the Bible is taught in a practical way, where you understand what’s being taught, where you walk away uplifted and closer to God by the end of the Sunday service. Here’s the kicker: showing up once a month won’t do the trick. Your soul needs to be in a rhythm of regular putting itself in a position and place to encounter God. Make it your resolution to go to church at least three times a month. That would be forty times in a year. I guarantee you, attending a good church forty times in a year will help your soul begin to encounter and know God.

Find Freedom

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We all want to be free from something. It could be something as openly obvious as an addiction or something hidden like a traumatic past. It could be that personality trait that keeps getting you into trouble or shame and guilt from past bad decisions. Perhaps it’s loneliness or depression that follows you around like a rain cloud. Whatever it is, we all crave freedom. Culturally, we’re trained to seek freedom on our own. Culture teaches us to believe that freedom means independence, not having to rely on anyone for anything. And yet Scripture teaches something completely different. In an ancient letter to first century believers, James writes that the way to healing and freedom is together (James 5:16). You only truly find freedom when you find freedom together. So if you want to find freedom this year, don’t just attend a weekend worship service. That’s where you need to start but it can’t be where you finish. Join a small group. Just like churches, not all small groups are created equal. Find a group where people don’t just study the Bible but they do life together. In that intimate and safe environment, you’ll begin to build the relationships and create the support structures needed for you to truly find freedom.

Discover Your Purpose

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It’s not enough for us to know that we exist. We want to know why. We were created by God on purpose for a purpose. One of the greatest discoveries we will ever make is to discover why God put us on this planet. Discovering your purpose starts with asking the right questions. What are your spiritual gifts? What are the personality traits that God hardwired into you? What abilities do you have? What are you passionate about? What life experiences have forged you? If you want to begin to discover your purpose, take an assessment. Online tools like PLACE or SHAPE can begin to help you ask the right questions. Many churches are now providing Growth Tracks that create an in-person experience to help you discover your purpose. God has been pouring purpose into your life from the day you were born. Once you discover the purpose within you, your soul begins to take flight.

Make a Difference

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Everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. We want our lives to matter, we want to make an impact, we want to make a difference. Once you discover your purpose, it’s time to put that purpose into action. A good church will provide a variety of meaningful opportunities for you to serve others inside and outside of the church. More than just volunteering, when you meaningfully serve others in a way that lines up with the God-given purpose that you’ve discovered, you stop merely volunteering and you start making a difference. Lives begin to change. You begin to transform your world, and your life takes on a breadth and depth of meaning never before known because you are making a difference in the lives of others. To make a difference, serve others in a meaningful way. The right church will help you develop and leverage your gifts to make an impact on your world.