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New Year, New You

That time has rolled around again, New Year’s. This time of year almost always has everyone thinking about all the new things they’re going to do or try. We’re all professing these audacious goals of learning a new language or eating clean/healthier, exercising or traveling more, quit smoking (cold turkey), spend more time with loved ones or even reading more etc, etc, ect. I know I’m definitely guilty of several of these resolutions. I’ll probably get a couple weeks into January and then, boom, I quit. Life happens, and I get distracted and allow those tiny setbacks to hold me back from what I had set out to do in the upcoming year. So many of us go through this very cycle, but rarely do we do the deep dive to examine what is truly at the root of us not accomplishing our goals. 

Perhaps the is the problem right there. We are trying to accomplish “Our” goals. Where is God in this process? Very seldom are our resolutions ones that include God. I’m not saying that there is something wrong with having goals; just that we shouldn’t lose sight of who our source is and where we ought to go to draw our strength from which will ultimately allow us to actually realize those goals. Psalm 28:8 reads “The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for is anointed one.” NIV. I believe we should always have a plan for every aspect of our life if we plan on being successful in that area. I’m sure you’ve heard of the saying “Failure to plan, is a plan to fail.” I would venture to say that we should take it a step further and write down our goals. Habukuk 2:2 read in part “…Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run who readth it.” KJV.

We all have been put here on earth for a purpose. The main purpose is to Glorify the One and True Living God. Practically, we do that by the way we chose to live our life daily. Sometimes we try to plan out our whole lives and then get frustrated when things aren’t going according to our timetable. Have we lost sight of what God said in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,“ declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” NIV. Now, granted this was a message was sent to the elders and priests who were exiled from Jerusalem through the prophet, Jeremiah. Nonetheless, I believe that just as God had a plan for them, He has a plan for us.

When we set resolutions, I think another oversight on our part is that it isn’t enough to just say and write down what we want to achieve for the New Year. We must actually DO IT. There’s a level of sacrifice that it’s going to be necessary to obtain/realize what we want. We can’t remain the same if we want new life experiences. We have to be willing to give up those old habits in order to make room for the new ones. Surrendering ourselves as a living sacrifice is how we’ll be able to get there. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!” As you’ve heard before, “Old habits die hard”. It’s true, however, it’s unrealistic for us to think that we can have/maintain the new things in our lives while operating under the old distorted mindsets and wicked ways we once had.

The great news is that Jesus is the way to a new, joyous and prosperous life. He is the answer to all of life’s questions. Putting God first is the key to true success and fulfillment. Refer to Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” I thank God for sending His son, Jesus who chose to lay down is life as a sacrifice for you and me. Without him, I was destined to spend eternity without him. I invited Him into my life to transform me and you can do the same. The gift of salvation can only come from accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. My suggestion for this New Year is to get those priorities in line and become a new creation in Christ, like Paul in Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ live in me. The life in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 

Be blessed, may this upcoming New Year be brighter than the last and most importantly may the love of Jesus Christ lead you into becoming a New You.