4 Great New Year’s Resolutions for Christians
God’s mercies are new every morning, and it’s like a new beginning every day. But that doesn’t mean we can’t benefit from making New Year’s resolutions. Being a follower of Jesus is the loftiest of goals, and it’s difficult, much like becoming a world-class athlete. Disciplines are required to have a walk with God that changes our own lives and impacts others for the kingdom of heaven. An advantage we have as Christians is that we trust God to do the actual changing in us. But following through with disciplines in line with our goals isn’t automatic. Determination and perspiration are also usually required to meet New Year’s resolutions, including those that are Christ-centered, like the four below.
1-Be More Trusting that God is in Control
When we believe God for our vision to be fulfilled, we aren’t supposed to get busy trying to fulfill it in ourselves. We just pray and seek God’s guidance, taking one step at a time, and trusting that open and closed doors are God’s will. For example, the way a single day goes is out of our control, to a large extent. If we’ve left early to get somewhere on time so that we can get a new job or make a great impression for a promotion, we’ve done our part to make it happen. If, then, we encounter a traffic jam that couldn’t have been avoided, that’s on God—unless we ignored the inner warning of the Holy Spirit urging us to take a different route. When we trust God with our goals and desires and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we can be sure that the end result we get is precisely the one engineered by our loving heavenly Father.
2-Remember to Do for Others
We may have goals worthy of a saint, but we shouldn’t focus on those goals to the exclusion of all else. Life should include times of giving to others. It’s one of the ways life needs to have balance. Make it a New Year’s resolution to do more in service to others. Spend time in prayer about it and actively seek out the right place where you will selflessly invest your time and effort. For some people, actually, intercessory prayer is the best way to make an impact on the lives of others.
3-Make Study of God’s Word more of a Priority
The Holy Bible is God’s communication to us. When we read the 66 books, from Genesis to Revelation, we come to a better understanding of who God is. The world around us has been removing all references to scripture and God, including the removal of historic crosses, all under the banner of political correctness. If we don’t make it a point to study, we will likely have more of the world influencing us than God’s Word.
4-Exercise Self-Discipline
Achieving our goals related to getting in shape, losing weight, and dropping unhealthy habits can be empowered, if we remember that God has given us self-control as one of the gifts of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Wanting to lose weight and getting regular exercise can become dreams fulfilled. We just need to realize that if something practical is in keeping with the Word of God and will help us achieve proper balance, He will give us the power to do that commonsense thing. That doesn’t necessarily mean He makes it easy, though.
Do you have New Year’s Resolutions?
If we don’t have goals, it’s unlikely we will achieve the most that we can in this life. It takes focus and purpose to become the best versions of ourselves. This time on earth may be a lot more important than we realize. Doing the work of God requires faith and believing (John 6:29). What do you think? Does it sound like a good idea for you to make some New Year’s resolutions?
