A Mid-Year Check-In for the Soul: What July Is For in the Christian Year

It is July. In Johannesburg, that means the Highveld is at its coldest. It is also, in the life of the South African Christian, the quiet middle of the year. The Easter energy of April is gone. The December anticipation has not yet started. This is the post I wish someone had given me in July of every year of my adult life.

Why July Is the Right Time for a Reset

By July, you know. You know what the year has been like. You know which of the changes stuck. July is the right time for a reset. Not because the new year is the only time for new beginnings. Because the middle of the year is the time when new beginnings are most honest.

The Biblical Case for the Middle of the Year

The Israelites in the Wilderness — Exodus 16

The mid-year of the Exodus is the moment when the Israelites have to learn to depend on God for the day's provision.

The Disciples in the Storm — Mark 6:45-52

The middle of the journey is the moment of the storm. The middle is not a sign that you are lost.

Paul in the Corinthian Wilderness — 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

The middle of the Christian life is the place where you stop relying on yourself.

The Psalm of the Middle — Psalm 102

The middle is the place where the present moment is small and the eternal God is large.

Jesus at Twelve — Luke 2:41-52

The middle is not a failure of the family. The middle is the first sign of the vocation that will define the rest of his life.

A Practical July Reset for the Christian in Johannesburg

Week 1 — The Review

Do not try to change anything. Just review. Ask three questions: What worked? What did not work? What changed?

Week 2 — The Reset

Do not start anything new. Just reset what you have. If the Bible reading plan is broken, find the day you actually stopped reading.

Week 3 — The Second-Half Plan

What does the second half need? What is the one thing I can commit to? Who do I need to ask for help?

How the Wednesday Bible Study Does the Mid-Year Reset

The last Wednesday in July is our mid-year reset evening. The first thirty minutes are a review. The second thirty minutes are a prayer. The third thirty minutes are a Psalm — usually Psalm 131.

A Mid-Year Prayer for the Christian in Johannesburg

God of the middle — we come to you at the middle of the year. We come tired. We come honest. Forgive us for the resolutions we made in January that we abandoned by March. For the second half of this year, give us the grace to begin again. Not from January. From now.

Johannesburg Bible Study Church meets online every Wednesday at 7:30pm. The last Wednesday in July is our mid-year reset evening. Call +27 77 487 1295 or +27 67 442 4461 to join.