2024 ~ The year of Prudence.
The weather has been so changeable this Christmas that it is a persistent reminder of how little control we have. I had planned NOT TO THINK about 2024 and what might unfold, but this word ‘Prudence’ keeps popping up unprompted.
The word ‘Prudence’ has a host of meanings … wisdom in the way of caution and provision; discretion; carefulness; frugality; forethought; heedfulness ~ I particularly like heedfulness as a meaning as it contrasts with the cliché of mindfulness. Where mindfulness may be living intentionally; Prudence is intentionality with reasoned wisdom.
We were hopeful at the beginning of 2023 and yet the year brought stresses and strains that we did not anticipate. The word of 2023 was ‘Resilience’; we became exhausted from the many times we couldn’t quite grasp things coming “out of left field”, but we survived and birthed the new, took ground, and won challenging battles. Resilience was hard work. Unexpected. Confusing. Surprising. Extraordinary.
If we are to learn anything from the last few years, it is how to negotiate change with wisdom.
Yes, the fresh wind of the Spirit will blow away weariness that comes with things we can’t control, but the Spirit will also bring us WISDOM. “If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5) It is the Spirit who helps us find simplicity and sustain balance, and who clears the pathway of overwhelm that clutters our mind and brings us forward planning strategies.
It is prudent to seek wisdom, it is prudent to be heedful, it is prudent to plan ahead. Last week I read ‘Going into the new year without a plan is like going into space without oxygen’. The song, Dear Prudence, kept playing in my head. In the song, John Lennon beckons Prudence to come out of the paranoiac tendencies of self-reflection and play where ‘the sun is up, the sky is blue and it’s beautiful’. Like I said, I had not planned to think about 2024, but I inevitably stopped and enquired … Lord what are you telling me about prudence?
We are called to walk with the unforced rhythms of grace into the world and make disciples of all Nations, and lean not on our understanding. Prudence does not rely on our strength and knowledge, but trusts the Lord’s reasoned wisdom. Be prepared for the moment when the Lord’s wisdom seems unreasonable! Prudence requires the discipline of oneself. Prudence takes into account the ‘supernatural good’ and discerns the innermost thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Prudence asks us to leave behind self-centred independence and embrace an interdependent world filled with wonder and beauty.
I pray we all walk into 2024 in the slipstream of His wisdom and prudence.
