Written by Mr Yak, on March 16, 2016

Posted in Blog,

A Reflection on Reflection

We expect instant gratification. Fast food, TiVo, self-check outs. We are addicted to getting things how we want when we want. We have no time for waiting, for anything. It’s easy to forget we have access to a spiritual discipline that flies in the face of our now, now, now culture – REFLECTION. Reflection can do amazing things for us, if we will commit to it and work it into our lives. A lack of reflection could actually rob us of growth that we would experience if we did reflect.

Our definition of reflection: Intentional deep review of experience or lessons leading to the worship of God and impartation of learning to others.
God Himself models reflection to us. After each day of creation God looked at what He had made that day and reflected on it. For 5 out of the 6 days, God said everything was good, but on the 6th, He looked at everything working together, with all of its moving parts and said it was very good. After each day God reflected on that day individually and at the end of His work He looked at it collectively. God the Father is modeling the importance of reflection. He is infinite. He never forgets but He chooses to reflect.
The Israelites reflected. God often calls the Israelites to reflect (Deuteronomy 8) on their deliverance from Egypt and His promises. He invites them to remember that He is the one true God and that only He could deliver from such oppression. When they reflected on God’s past faithfulness the Israelites were steadied on His goodness and their faith was strengthened. Ultimately our reflections bring us back to the eternal truth that God is our provider. He is the source of good. Reflection not only provides strength which allows us to hold fast in trials but more importantly leads us to worship God.

When we reflect, we are inviting God to speak to us.

We should reflect. When we do, we are stopping to hear from the Creator of the universe. We are constantly reminded of the faithfulness of God in our lives. This means that in the midst of trying seasons, we can look back and say, “God was faithful then and He will prove Himself faithful again.” If we do not reflect, we will forget these things. They will eventually fade, never to be seen again. Reflection is the antidote for this. God makes His mercies new every morning (Lamentations 3.22-23), which means that we have something to reflect on every single day.
What a waste to learn a difficult lesson and be quick to forget it. Do you really want to walk down a path in which you must learn an important lesson all over again? Of course we don’t want to do that, but we make the choice to all the time. Consider your stewardship of that learning that God in His grace provided for you. Failure to remember flows into inability to impart the learning to those around us. When we are selfish with God’s provision in our life and refuse to build up the church as we are built up, we miss out on the most satisfying reward to our trials.
Reflection is not instant gratification. It is actually delayed gratification, but the results are worth the effort. Flex your reflection muscle. Big things, small things, whatever the case. Write it down, reflect on it and remember it.