“Examine and Return”

SERMON Title: Examine and Return
SCRIPTURE: Lamentations 3:40 ESV

Introduction

I want to begin with a simple question for you to think about for a moment: When was the last time you spent at least 30 minutes reflecting on your life?

And when I say reflecting, here’s what I mean.
I’m talking about reflecting on your actions—and your reactions.
I’m talking about looking back at the beliefs that have shaped us and the shame we’ve carried along the way.
It could also mean taking time to listen closely to God’s Word and to consider how His Word intersects with this particular season of your life.
When was the last time you paused to discern, What is God’s will for my life right now?

We all know, at least in theory, that taking time to reflect is wise. Reflection helps us notice where we are, identify what is shaping us, and make necessary adjustments as we move forward. And yet, for many of us, this is incredibly difficult.

We live in a society that is hurried, overstimulated, and constantly demanding our attention. Slowing down feels unnatural. Creating space for reflection often feels inefficient—or even irresponsible. There is always something to do, something to catch up on, something waiting for our response.

So many of us live with the subtle assumption that if we slow down too much, things will fall apart.
What happens if things don’t get done?
What if I don’t get into that college, pass that exam, land that job, or get that promotion?
What if it messes up my plans, my timeline, my goals, my life?

So we keep going. We keep pushing. We keep moving forward without stopping to ask where we’re headed—or what this pace is doing to us.

And yet, ironically, this hurried way of living often creates the very damage we are trying to avoid. We become exhausted, reactive, and spiritually numb. Our relationships feel strained. Our attentiveness to God grows thinner and quieter.

The truth is, many of us live at a violent pace—a pace in which we do violence against ourselves, violence against others, and violence against our relationship with God.

That is why Scripture consistently invites us into a different kind of life—a life of examination and reflection—where we slow down, look inward, and honestly locate ourselves before the Lord. And I don’t think there is a better Sunday to do that than the last Sunday of the year.

Henri Nouwen once said, “We would do well to spend 50% of our lives reflecting on the other 50% that’s lived.”
Whether or not that is literally possible, the point is clear: most of us spend very little time reflecting on our lives. God, however, is offering us a different way—a more reflective and contemplative life. That is why our text in Lamentations is so important for us today.

Lamentations 3:40 says, “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord.”

This verse calls God’s people to be intentional about reflection. Why? Because reflection is ultimately the means by which we return. Rarely do people wake up one day and decide to walk away from God. More often, we drift—through busyness, distraction, unexamined habits, and subtle compromises. Our hearts grow distant slowly, often without us realizing it.

Reflection is the gracious practice that helps us locate ourselves so that we might return to the Lord again.

Historical Context

When Jeremiah writes the book of Lamentations, he is addressing God’s people who had been sent into exile because they refused to examine their lives. They lived however they wanted, without testing their ways. And it was in exile—in the midst of loss, pain, and disorientation—that these words were spoken.

What I love about this is that even though judgment had come and their lives were in ruins, God still spoke a word of hope. God still spoke of a future. He came to His people in their pain and said, This does not have to be the last chapter of your story.

But the way forward came with a condition: Test and examine your ways, and return to me.

God’s people had stopped examining themselves. They were no longer discerning where they were aligned with God and where they were resisting Him. And as a result, they found themselves far from home.

Some of us may feel that way today—spiritually distant, dry, or disoriented. And yet God’s invitation remains the same: examine, reflect, and return.

Reflection

There are really two paths when it comes to reflection. We can reflect regrettably, or we can reflect redemptively.

Many people avoid reflection because it brings our mistakes to the surface—the words we said that hurt someone, the actions we regret, the decisions that make us ask, Why did I do that? Reflection can easily reinforce shame.

But when we reflect in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are invited to reflect redemptively—to see our past not as a place of shame, but as a place where God’s grace is at work.

Four Truths of Redemptive Reflection

Truth 1: God is always active in our lives.
There is no season where God is absent. When we reflect, we are not looking for evidence of God’s inactivity, but tracing His presence—even when we could not perceive it at the time.

Truth 2: God knows how to bring good out of our past.
We have all made mistakes. And yet we serve a creative God who knows how to bring good even out of our failures and sins.

Truth 3: There are lessons God wants us to learn.
Some pain is divine—God’s pruning for our growth. Other pain is unnecessary—pain we bring upon ourselves as we drift from God. Reflection helps us learn so that we do not repeat those patterns.

Truth 4: There is a new future available if we discern the Spirit’s activity.
Even in exile, God invited His people to return. The same invitation stands for us today: discern the Spirit’s movement so that we may walk into the future God has for us.

The Examen

This brings us to the spiritual practice of the Examen, developed by Ignatius of Loyola as a daily exercise to discern God’s presence and activity. Traditionally, it reflects on one day. Today, we are adapting it to reflect on an entire year.

Think of it like a mall directory. You look for the red dot that says, “You are here.” If you do not know where you are, you cannot know where you are going. The Examen helps us locate ourselves spiritually so that we can follow Jesus more faithfully as we enter the new year.

Instructions for the Examine

So with that as the introduction, I want to lead us now through the examine and we are gonna go through the 4 movements of the examine - we are going to Look Back, we're gonna Look through, we're gonna Look forward and we're gonna Look around. Those are the 4 movements of the Examine.

Now, before we start, I want to ask you - instead of just reflecting by your thoughts in your head, I want to invite you to write down your reflections - so that you can capture your thoughts and come back to it.

An exercise like this, if you want to do it right, you're gonna need at least 30mins to an hour, but since we can't take that much time together today, we're just gonna take about 10 minutes in this exercise – so 2-3 minutes per movement.

I know this is not enough time for you to fully reflect, but hopefully this will kick-start your thoughts, and after the worship is over, you can reflect on it some more to further discern where you have been in 2025, and how God is calling you forward in 2025.

So let me pray before we get started with the examine.

Lord Jesus, on this final Sunday 2025, Lord we want to examine our lives. Lord we want to probe and discern where we're at and where your Spirit wants to take us. So Holy Spirit, would you give us grace for the next 10 minutes to be present to ourselves, to be present to you, and to be present to what you want to do in us and through us as we finish off 2025 and begin 2026. So Lord we lift up this time to you and We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

So Let’s begin with the first movement.

1) Look Back - Look over the past 6 months to a year. Reflect on these questions.

-        Where have I been (spiritually in my life with God)?

-        What significant changes have come my way?

-        When have I been most stressed?

-        Where am I now (spiritually in my life with God)?

Take about 2-3 minutes or so reflecting on these questions. You don't have to answer all of them at this time. You can just focus on one or two questions  if you would like.

You can begin.  (2-3Min)

2) Look Through - identify any patterns, connections or themes that have characterized the past 6 months to 1 year.

-        If you can, summarize your past year in a sentence or two.

-        Do you notice anything or some kind of patterns? (for example, patterns of stress, anger, depression, etc.)

-        What do you want to highlight in this season of your life?

-        What do you think God wants you to know in this season of your life?

Take another 2-3minutes to go over the 2nd movement - Looking Through.

3) Look Forward - Where do you sense God leading you forward?

-        What do you sense your soul needs in the season?

-        What are your hopes and dreams for this coming year?

-        Paint a picture of the kind of life you envision over the next 6 months.

Where do you sense God leading you forward? Let take another 2-3 minutes.

4) Look Around

-        What community support do you need in this season of your life?

-        Who are the people you need to invite to walk alongside you? (This can be a small group, a ministry team that you're involved with, your pastor or a spiritual director, maybe a therapist, a trusted friend, etc.)

-        How can others best support you?

Again, Take about 3-4minutes and then we'll close our time together.