Ground Yourself
FEBRUARY 1, 2021 | 3 MINUTE READ
CONNOR OWEN, COMMUNICATIONS PROJECT MANAGER
For most of 2020, you were grounded. You couldn’t go to church, you couldn’t travel or go on a mission trip, you couldn’t go to your favorite restaurant, you couldn’t see many of your friends. It was the longest grounding of your life, with no end date given.
Brace yourself for this next sentence. You should ground yourself again in 2021. But this time, you should ground yourself in Jesus.
There are multiple ways to do this. The first step is spending time daily abiding in Jesus. This looks different from person to person through time in Scripture, prayer, silence, or journaling. The second step to grounding yourself for 2021 is by filling the gaps of your life with content that grounds you well.
Throughout the day, you most likely have a few gaps that could be filled with content that fills you and forms you to become more like Jesus. In your commute to and from work (or school or the store), you could use that twenty-minute gap to listen to podcasts or recent sermons. In your evenings, after the chaos of getting kids to bed or running errands is over, it’s easy to grab the remote and turn on your favorite show. But what if you picked up a new book for thirty minutes and let it challenge you? Or what about when you’re waiting at the doctor’s office or in line at the grocery store and you start looking at your phone? You could look at online resources that deepen your walk with Christ instead of social media or the latest news headlines.
Here are some resources to fill those gaps.
PODCASTS
- Length: One hour
- Topic: Interpreting current events through a Christian worldview
- Gaps to fill: Evening down time, Longer walk
- Length: 30 minutes
- Topic: Living life as a follower of Jesus in a post-Christian world
- Gaps to fill: Exercise session, Commute to work or the store
- Length: 15–30 minutes
- Topic: Life’s challenges and how to find freedom in God
- Gaps to fill: Folding laundry, Running errands
BOOKS
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry | John Mark Comer
- Comer writes extensively in his book about how living a hurried life is incompatible with the way of Jesus.
- Are there areas in your life where you can create more space and remove hurry? This book gives practical insights to remove hurry from your life, resulting in a life that looks more like Jesus’.
Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible | Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- While Bonhoeffer’s books can be overwhelming at times, this short, insightful book offers ways to use Scripture to guide your prayers. Major themes of the Psalms are categorized so that you can utilize a certain section during the different seasons of your life. Using this book will help root your prayers in Scripture, because, as Bonhoeffer writes, “The Word of God ought to determine our prayer, not the poverty of our heart.”
With | Sky Jethani
- With explores how God created us to be with Him and that He is on a mission to rebuild that connection. Jethani helps readers understand how to live in communion with God and escape the burnout and obligation that seems to be so prevalent in American Christianity today so that we can help transform ourselves and the world around us.
ONLINE RESOURCES
- Accessible on your phone, tablet, or computer, you can read daily devotionals, watch their Seven Minute Seminary videos, and utilize other resources—many of which are free—that enhance your walk with Jesus.
- This free mobile app provides daily devotions that you can read or listen to. You’ll be walked through four steps, known as P.R.A.Y: Pause, Reflect, Ask, Yield.
- Using any device, you can learn more about people groups all over the world—near or far. Whether God has given you a heart for Chicago or a people group in the Middle East, this free resource can educate and mobilize you with tangible prayer steps.
During the small moments of the day, what if you grounded yourself from your normal habits? Instead of listening to your favorite song in the car or checking out the latest headlines or social media posts, what if you filled those gaps with content that deepens your walk with Jesus? What if you willfully and intentionally ground yourself for 2021?
Author Bio: Connor Owen is the project manager for the Communications team. He enjoys spending time with his wife and their two children. When he’s not juggling work, family life, and schoolwork, he likes to read non-fiction, fish, and go on bike rides.