At this time of the year, it is only natural to consider a New Year’s resolution to improve our lives in some capacity.
A resolution is really an intentional decision to take action. Sometimes this action comes in the face of great adversity, such as was the case with Job in the Biblical book of Job. He was facing tremendous adversity in his life…the loss of his family and fortune, but he made a resolution to remain faithful to God, and God honored that resolution. All of our resolutions would benefit from such faith.
The pathway to get OUR heart right, is to reach out to God and invite Jesus into every room in the house of our heart. Psalm 51:10 reads, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
When our hearts are clean, they are aligned with God’s heart and we both are seeking the same things for our lives. This is important because the best resolutions are made when we have a clean heart and a right spirit.
As the Spirit fills our heart with His love, mercy, and grace, we are better able to focus on Him and not the adversity of today. This is the key to claiming the peace that transcends all understanding.
Yes, we will always have things to worry about, but the peace of God is greater than the total sum of all of our worries. Once we lean into that knowledge, then a supernatural transformation occurs and “our troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more (Job 11:16).”
A good resolution is a faith-based prayer. We use the prophetic perfect tense in which we thank God in advance for answering our prayer and knowing that the answer will come at His perfect time and in His perfect way.
God is offering His peace in the present and a royal inheritance in the future. So, as we make plans and resolutions, let’s acknowledge that there is trouble in the present, and some of it is deadly serious. But let us also acknowledge that we are children of God and His plans as given to the Prophet Jeremiah are still true today.
“For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
A resolution is a manifestation of the things that we hold dear in our hearts. The Word of God teaches us in Matthew 6:21, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” One way to examine our heart is to ask ourselves…Where am I storing my treasure?
If we do not hold the resolution dear in our hearts, then historical statistics indicate that we will give up. And the majority of people give up their New Year’s resolution on the second Friday of January, which is known as Quitters Day.
I believe that the best resolutions begin with an honest self-assessment that begins with prayer and an invitation to the Holy Spirit to help us in our discernment process of what God is calling each of us to do.
This assessment also needs to include asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to us our sin so that we can confess, repent, and receive His grace. God will not hear the resolutions of our mouths if unrepentant sin is present in our hearts. Isaiah 59:2 teaches, “Your wrongs have separated you from your God, and your sins have made him hide his face so that he doesn’t hear you.”
Whatever your resolution is today or any day, I pray that it allows you to claim God’s promise to Job and also to each of us today—“all your troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more.”
Be blessed as you bless others.
Happy New Year to all!
