When God created the earth, He took a step back after each stage of work, reflected upon what He had done, and concluded: it's good! And at the very end of all the work, He evaluated the results of His workmanship and passed His verdict: it's VERY GOOD! (Gen. 1:3-31).

We are made in God's image. That means (among other things) that we are made to do as He did; to reflect as He reflected.

Why the Need to Reflect?

To Develop a Grateful spirit
Most of us take things in life for granted: our parents, children, jobs, government, the convinience of the multitude of services and facilities available to us. We take our pastors and church workers, our maids for granted. We even take our own lives for granted. But if we could take a step back and reflect upon the benefits that we receive from these relationships, and consider where we would be without them, we would be more grateful and appreciative.
Ordinary, little almost-non-events can take on great significance when a person reflects on their value. Positive reflection helps take our eyes off what can stir up discontent and complaint, and get us to focus on the good and positive in the mundane, humdrum daily routine. Psalm 103 says: "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits..." When was the last time you reflected upon God's many benefits and blessed Him?

To Check if We are on Track
Life consists of thousands of decisions. The cumulative effect of these gives us a certain course and direction, and leads us relentlessly towards a certain destination. But is it the destination what we had set out to reach? Is it the course we intended, or are we going off-course?
It is very easy to let the hundreds of daily events, weekly habits, and monthly routines dictate the shape and structure of our lives. Unless we step back and take stock, evaluate and make corrections, we allow the multitude of circumstances to push us onto a route we had not intended.
At the end of a long life, King Solomon reflected upon his life and found that it had been vanity of vanities- void, futile - and wrote the book of Ecclesiastes as a warning to us.
There are many Solomons around- you've met them! People who strive to climb the ladder of corporate success, material acquisitions, children's academic excellence, and many other such ladders. People who keep climbing, and pushing, trying to go ever higher...only to find when they've reached the very top, that the ladder was leaning on the wrong wall!
I think a regular hour of reflection might have averted a lifetime of mistakes. But most people are so busy living , they don't have time to remember what they are living for.

To See the Big Picture
In the midst of troubles, and problems, many people don't see the big picture at all. Their noses are so close to the grindstone, they fail to see the tapestry of their lives evolving.
Not Joseph. In all those years of slavery, of proving himself, of pining for home, of remembering the harm done to him-what was he thinking? I believe he stuck resolutely to his dream because he saw every injustice and hardship in the light of the big picture, the dream that God had given him. His constant reflection kept him focussed on the end-result, the dream of his life.
There are people who endure similar suffering today. The only way not to be engulfed by the slavery and tyranny of hardship is to reflect upon what God has given us. His promise that somehow all things work together for good, that He gives us a future and a hope.

To Ease the Stresses of Life
Often, a few minutes of thoughtful reflection will ease unnecessary tension and pressure on our minds and bodies. Like, do we have to hurry? Why are we hurrying? What is the effect of all this hurry on me? On others? Is there a better way to do things? Do we need this kind of activity, etc? What's the big deal in this?
This will lessen the unnecessary stress many put themselves through, lengthen their lives a little, and make life that bit more pleasurable.
(Next week-"Questions to reflect on")