Just about everyone that is in the business of making resolutions has had a few or more that didn’t quite make it to the end. We tell ourselves, “This is going to be my year! I’m going to have all the good things that God has in store because this year, I’m going to achieve my goal!” We’re motivated and resolved to accomplish the goals that we believe will make our lives better, and this is a good thing. Resolutions mean that we understand where we are and where we could be, but more importantly, it means we understand on some level that change is possible. And not only that, we understand that resolve begins with our minds and mouths. After that part is solidified, the manifestation of the promise we hold for ourselves is well on its way.
Proverbs 4:23(NIV) says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” The heart is the innermost part of our being, and Proverbs 4:23 tells us that it’s the starting place of everything we do. This holds a very important piece of knowledge about how God created us. We live from the inside out, not from the outside in. For many of us, accepting this truth has been a struggle. When it comes to the quality of our lives, it very easy to point the finger at outside influences rather than to look at our own thoughts and attitudes.
The twists and turns of life are inevitable and often send us down roads we never expected to tread. Things we thought were simple surprisingly bring complexity and the familiar we’ve always known can turn on a dime. When we’re promising ourselves to be more committed than we’ve been in the past, often we don’t consider that life will not always cooperate smoothly with our plans.
Jesus Christ taught in Luke 6:45(NIV), “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Since the heart plays such a pivotal role in determining or demolishing our success, we should make it our business to change our hearts so that they line up with God’s Word and the blessings it contains. So, the best resolution of any we can make is a commitment to partner with God and follow His guidance in a greater way.
Philippians 4:6(NLT) tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Prayer and patience are key. Sometimes, our priorities are more about what’s on the outside than what is on the inside. We not as attentive to the work of our souls as we should be, and that’s not a great place to begin resolutions of any kind. When there are issues in our hearts that are blocking our blessings, we will often sabotage any progress we make in other areas. Many of us will blame it on willpower, but the issue is sometimes one of being out of sync with the Lord. We may desire the accomplishment of the goal more than we desire closeness with Him, and this is something we must change.
Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to live our lives as though we know this and rejoice in it. Philippians 4:13 declares that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. When we try to do things without acknowledging and following the Source of our strength, we will not be nearly as successful in our resolutions as we could be. We must be faithful to pray to know and hear God’s heart about our goals and aspirations. We also need to be patient with ourselves as He leads, guides, and directs us. Our Heavenly Father is interested in our successes. He wants us to be happy and making closeness with Him our continual resolution will help us to achieve goals that are pleasing to God and very satisfying to us as well. ■
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Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Best Resolution”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.