Old Things Have Passed Away…All Things Are New!
January 2009
People have much to say concerning New Year’s Resolution’s…they
are derived from pagan practices, they rarely effect permanent changes,
they are a waste of time, etc… Still I cannot help feeling that the
start of a new year is the perfect time to make a decision to improve.
Logically we know there is no mystical power that manifests in the 60
seconds between 11:59 PM and 12:00. There is no ethereal twinkling
fairy that erases the smudges and smears created on the chalkboard of
life in the 364 days prior. But the new number on the end of our 200_
somehow ignites a hope in us that this year and this time around, we
will be stronger, wiser for the wear, and ready to fully carry out the
things we desire to see happen in our lives.
Research
shows us that about 52% of people are confident that they will be
successful in realizing their resolutions, and only 12% ever actually
achieve them! That means that even from the start, only about half
of those who make resolutions even believe that they will be able to
carry them out – if that isn’t a set-up for failure, I don’t know what
is.
I know that the majority of those who make resolutions this
year will attempt the usual – losing weight, quitting smoking,
volunteering to help others more often, having a better attitude,
getting out of debt, reducing stress, and becoming more organized. Isn’t
it funny how a spirit-filled life will naturally lead to all of these
things in time, without excessive struggling or defeat?
Philippians
2:13 tells us that God is working within us, giving us the desire and
the power to do what pleases him. Romans 12:2 also tells us that when
we allow Him to transform us by renewing our minds, then we will know
exactly what His good, pleasing, and perfect will really is. When
reading the Scriptures, it becomes apparent to us that a healthy,
balanced, organized, debt-free, and joy-filled life is what God would
have for us. And while it requires some sacrifice to keep our minds
renewed and to be alert and vigilant of the pitfalls of the enemy, the
burden of tedious, self-fueled renovation is lifted in realizing that
God and God alone is the one who works inside of us. He is the one who
reveals His plans and purposes to us, and He is also the one who
empowers us to reach for everything He has in store. He will perfect
everything that concerns us, and will bring to a flourishing finish the
work He has begun (Psalm 138:8, Phil. 1:6).
Notice it does not
say He would reveal what He wants for and from us and then leave us
confused and alone, doomed to scavenge around in a hostile environment
for answers and explanations. Neither does it say that we could pray
once very sweetly for God to remove all barriers and obstacles, hunger
pangs and cravings, so that we could perform everything with the
greatest of ease. It is merely a reassurance of the fact that anything
God wants for us, He will gladly and eagerly jump in to help us
accomplish. We do not need to keep attempting to do things by our own willpower – they will never last if it is only up to us.
I
cannot tell you how many times I have resolved to eat healthfully only
to have my plans and resolve thwarted by a tray of sumptuous sweets. I
have made the resolution to read my Bible all the way through only to
lose some serious momentum in those delightful laws and lineage records
in Leviticus and Numbers. I have made myself promises that I would
speak only kind words, even if that meant being completely silent, only
to lose it all in one fiery moment of provocation or one sarcastic
comment that I just couldn’t resist making. And I will always fall
short in these areas unless I realize this: I am the righteousness of
God in Christ. I am forgiven and cleansed when I confess my sin, and
God is the one who gives me the desire and ability to do what pleases
Him.
So I make no grandiose proclamations this year about sugar or stress or sarcasm. I will simply make it my goal, as Paul did, to press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me
(Phil. 3:12). I will resolve to let love be my highest goal (1 Cor.
14:1), and I will grow in the understanding that I can put not
confidence in my flesh. I will forget those things which are behind me
in 2008 and all the years before, good and bad, and I will pray that I
may know Christ both in His suffering and in His resurrection. (Phil.
3:10-11) And maybe I’ll get through Leviticus this year…
~
"Good resolutions are simply checks
that men draw on a bank where they have no account."
Oscar Wilde
~
"He who breaks a resolution is a weakling;
He who makes one is a fool."
F. M. Knowles
By Jennifer Yakopin