Psalm 37:4-6, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”
Have you made any New Year resolutions this year? Research suggests that most of us do, but only one in five of us will have kept those resolutions to the end of the month, and only one in twenty till the end of the year.
Common New Year’s resolutions are: to quit smoking, to stop drinking, to manage money better, and spend more time with family. By far the most common New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, in conjunction with exercising more and eating healthier. In addition, many Christians make New Year’s resolutions to pray more, to read the Bible every day, and to attend church more regularly.
These are fantastic goals. However, these New Year’s resolutions fail just as often as the non-spiritual resolutions, because there is no power in a New Year’s resolution (you are no more likely to be able to do something just because you decide to do it on 31st December than on any other day of the year). Resolving to start or stop doing a certain activity has no value unless you have the proper motivation for stopping or starting that activity. For example, why do you want to read the Bible every day? Is it to honour God and grow spiritually, or is it because you have just heard that it is a good thing to do? Why do you want to lose weight? Is it to honour God with your body, or is it for vanity, to honour yourself?
Philippians 4:13 tells us, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” John 15:5 declares, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” If God is the centre of your New Year’s resolution, it has chance for success, depending on your commitment to it. If it is God’s will for something to be fulfilled, He will enable you to fulfil it. If a resolution is not God honouring or is not in agreement in God’s Word, we will not receive God’s help in fulfilling the resolution.
So, what sort of New Year’s resolution should a Christian make? Well, I can’t tell you what you should resolve to do, but I can suggest how you might go about doing it. First, pray to the Lord for wisdom (James 1:5) in regards to what resolutions, if any, He would have you make; Second, pray for wisdom as to how to fulfil the goals God gives you; Third, rely on God’s strength to help you; Fourth, find someone who will help you, challenge you and encourage you as you try and keep your new resolution; Fifth, don’t become discouraged with occasional failures, instead allow them to motivate you further; Finally, don’t become proud or vain, but give God the glory.
Hopefully, this will mean that whatever you resolve to do, you will be able to see it through, and that will mean you will grow in godliness. What a wonderful thought for a new year.
Happy New Year
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