This is a rather general question that has more than one right answer, but I shall give only one in the space bellow. It has to do with our thinking, our disposition, more specifically, how we view ourselves. A large part of the struggle that so many Christians have for intimacy with Christ is an unbiblical view of self. Consequently, I believe that certainly one way to come to know Christ and the power of His resurrection better is to develop a biblical view of self.
The New Year is soon upon us and will bring new beginnings, new opportunities, new chances, and, yes, a host of new problems, temptations, and trials. Maybe you’re rolling your eyes over that last part, saying, “I know. I know. Don’t remind me!” But here is something you might not be aware of; there will also be new “disorders” and “diseases” espoused by the psychological world. I put those words in quotes because more often than not they classify behavioral problems that are clearly not organic, but the result of sin in the heart, something that cannot be evaluated empirically or fixed with medication. Repentance and training in godliness are needed.
One example of a sinful heart issue is a wrong view of self. I am speaking specifically of a high view of self, a lofty view of self. Let’s understand that people never have had a problem loving themselves (Matthew 22:39; Ephesians 5:29). The fact is, they love themselves too much! We have only to listen to Jesus’ admonitions to His audience time and time again to deny self, in order to be convinced of this. Selfishness and pride really are at work and they produce in us an unhealthy fear of man. We put more importance on what others think of us than on what God thinks of us and, consequently, commit sinful behavior ranging anywhere from avoiding people to seeking their attention. No matter where a person is in on this spectrum, he lives his whole life in fear of getting hurt, ridiculed, ignored, slighted, neglected, or embarrassed and tries hard to prevent it. This is not a victorious way of living.
Let’s not underestimate, then, the sinful motives of the heart, especially love of self; it is a powerful one that has driven some even to take their own lives. But much of Christian Psychology has done just that by, first of all, arguing that many of our problems are due to a low view of self. What is interesting here is that what they see as the solution - love ourselves more - the Bible sees as the problem! Second of all, they have gone the extra mile and labeled the state of the person with an unbiblical view of self a disease (e.g., social anxiety disorder), thereby effectively removing all hope from the one in distress.
As we go into the New Year, we need to remember this problem that we all have with selfishness and pride that drives us to fear man rather than God and begin to humble ourselves before our great God, in Whose image we are made. If we want to be intimate with our Lord, we must be more like Him, Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8).
Paul prefaces this wonderful description of the gospel with the words, “Let this mind be in you”. That means we must develop a selfless posture, a humble attitude, esteeming others as better than ourselves (Phil 2:3).
Now Jesus summed up in one word what I have been trying to say in many regarding a humble posture. It is the word “meekness”. “Blessed are the meek,” He said in the Sermon on the Mount, “for they shall inherit the earth.” Rather than attempt a definition of meekness, I point you to that of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Sermon on the Mount, Vol 1). I have found no better definition than this anywhere. Let it challenge you as to how you should be thinking about yourself this year and until Christ returns. It would be to our advantage to go into this New Year with a proper view of self. No doubt, it will be a new way for you to solve some ongoing problems:
Then let me go further; the man who is meek is not even sensitive about himself. He is not always watching himself and his own interests. He is not always on the defensive. We all know about this, do we not? Is it not one of the greatest curses in life as a result of the fall-this sensitivity about self? We spend the whole of our lives watching ourselves. But when a man becomes meek he has finished with all that; he no longer worries about himself and what other people say. To be truly meek means we no longer protect ourselves, because we see there is nothing worth defending. So we are not on the defensive; all that is gone. The man who is truly meek never pities himself. He is never sorry for himself. He never talks to himself and says, ‘You are having a hard time, how unkind these people are not to understand you’. He never thinks: ‘How wonderful I really am, if only other people gave me a chance.’ Self-pity! What hours and years we waste in this! But the man who has become meek has finished with all that. To be meek, in other words, means that you have finished with yourself altogether, and you come to see you have no rights or deserts at all. You come to realize that nobody can harm you. John Bunyan puts it perfectly. ‘He that is down need fear no fall.’ When a man truly sees himself, he knows nobody can say anything about him that is too bad. You need not worry about what men may say or do; you know you deserve it all and more. Once again, therefore, I would define meekness like this. The man who is truly meek is the one who is amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do. That, it seems to me, is its essential quality.