When we are faithful to a system and structure we create stability, and foster growth, and our consistent efforts with commitment help to build us up and keep us in check.

Similarly, the only way to remain grounded in consecration and devotion to God is to be intentional about staying steadfast and putting in daily efforts without fail to ensure we are living a life set apart to God. We have to create structures to ensure consistency and keep to them.

Semper-Fi is a motto used by the U.S. Marines and is short for the Latin phrase “Semper-Fidelis” which means “Always Faithful.”

For the soldiers in the Marines, this motto expresses their faithfulness to the tenets of the armed force and is a proclamation that they would willingly give their lives in service to the Marine Corps. And this is the exact attitude every believer has to have towards devotion and consecration to God all through the year and their life.

We need to have the mindset of always remaining faithful and set apart to God regardless of what happens through the year or whatever doesn’t.

As the year is coming to an end and you reflect on actions you took, and what you want to do better, it would not be enough to decide that you want to pray much more, study more, and disciple more men.

You need to put intentional structures in place to sustain these plans!

Genesis 1:1-8;26
New King James Version
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

It is noteworthy that God created every other thing before creating man. God ensured to make available everything that can make man comfortable before creating man.

There is a spiritual principle here that you can apply in your life: to have a vibrant and consistent devotion in place as you go into the new year, you must create a structure and a system for its survival and sustenance.

You would keep struggling if you left your devotion and consecration to God to chance.

In other words, whatever spiritual experience you encounter, you must create a culture and discipline that can birth it and sustain it. You must create an atmosphere before an activity.

Before you complain about your walk with God, can we look at your life and see an infrastructure that can sustain it?

You might be wondering, how exactly can I do this?

How can I set structures and stay consecrated all through the year?

Here are some practical steps to take to remain consecrated and devoted to God in the coming year:

1. Have devotional goals. You can decide that you want to have read five chapters of the Bible by the end of every week, you want to pray at least one hour thirty minutes every day, and to do this, you can reach out to people that can hold you accountable so you will not slip up.

2. Set out a specific time every day to pray. Work with your schedule and pick a specific time when you can pray and shut out the noise around you. This can be early in the morning before you start your day or during your lunch break.

3. Create a comfortable space, free of distractions where you can spend time with God.

4. Take advantage of the gathering of believers.

Hebrews 10:24-25
New King James Version
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

No believer can survive as an island of their own so don’t be far from other believers as they will stir you up when you start slipping. We were born into a family, God has given us people who would hold us up, ensure we are conscious of it, and make use of the resource of people.

5. Don’t be scared to start again. Whenever you break your consistency, go back and start again. Don’t beat yourself up and stay there for long, start again and again.

Finally, as you prepare for the new year, remember that you can set these structures now and start taking these steps now.

You don’t have to wait till the year runs out before you start.

Start today and keep running!

Prayer Point
I declare that even as I prepare for the new year, I set structures that will aid my growth. I do not leave my devotion to chance and I remain fervent throughout.