Putting the 'resolve' into resolutions

So we're wrapping up the first month of 2021 and by now, statistically, most people who made resolutions have already given up or are struggling to stay with it. Here are some thoughts to help you find the resolve to stick with your goals whether it be for the New Year or whenever.

A new year, or new goal, is an opportunity for new life. Each day with Jesus is a chance to turn the page on an old way of life and embrace a new one. We are, after all, new creation people, and we serve a King who renews us daily by the Holy Spirit.

Setting goals for a new year are an important sign that we’re intentional about glorifying God in our callings whether that is at work or in school, at home or at church. Before we write out our goals, we should begin in the heart. The temptation for Christians is to make our plans and add a splash of Jesus on top, rather than allowing him to form in us the desires and motivations to do his work.

Whether or not we’re making concrete goals or more abstract ones, whether you’re writing down resolutions or foregoing them altogether, I'd like to share some steps we can take, as we move triumphantly through 2021, to draw closer to Jesus.

Here is the first ‘tip’ or thought on how to do that.

1. Remember

We read in Ecclesiastes: “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’” In January, the year is young and the opportunities seem fresh. So many productivity gurus preach a gospel of self-empowerment, but as gospel people, we know the fragility of human life. We know every breath is a miracle, a gift given to us by God, our Creator.

I love the words of the old hymn ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’:

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

In a broken and fallen world, creation itself reminds of God’s great faithfulness. Every new season is a testimony, it’s a signpost, to grace. So the proper response to the past year, whether good or bad, is not “I made it through” or “Look what I achieved.” It is “Thank you, Lord.” Remember that and your whole attitude will change!

2. Repent

I think the first one, ‘remember’, is probably a lot easier than this one because it really does call for a choice, and often some form of loss. Our worship of God for his faithfulness, grace and majesty should lead us to repentance. His goodness breaks us in fresh ways as our sin is exposed by the light of his glory. But this isn’t a morbidly introspective, navel-gazing exercise. To repent is to rejoice. Have you ever thought of it that way? We have the opportunity to CLAIM the promise of 1 John 1:9-if we confess our sins God is faithful and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Why?

Because we know our forgiveness has already been purchased at the cross.

Beginning the new year with repentance is to draw closer to Jesus, to appropriate the fresh grace that is ours in him. This is why confession always brings relief and joy. It’s the gateway to greater intimacy with God.

How can we begin new plans and journeys in 2021 without first allowing his light to penetrate the darkness of our hearts and to reveal areas in need of growth? How can we start working, grinding and dreaming without first renewing our joy in the One who directs our steps? It’s a great way to start the day, the week, the month and yes, the year!

3. Renew

New Year’s should not just be a time of looking forward, it also should be a time of renewing old commitments, like marriage, family, and church. Before we begin grand plans to lose weight or develop a new skill—good creational goals—let’s begin by renewing the core commitments we already have.

Our most vital work is what we do within the walls of our homes—loving our spouses or our parents and raising our children or co-operating with siblings. This creates an atmosphere of godliness and grace. We live out the gospel best when we live it out in the daily rhythms of repentance and forgiveness with loved ones. We must reject the lie that says success requires abandoning family commitments.

We should also renew ourselves to the faithful body life of our church. This is not a shameless plug for my church or any other (no, really!). The local church is the center of God’s mission in the world, where we gather in community to declare Christ’s kingship each week, and where we work out our salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12) with brothers and sisters in Jesus. Do you need to get more closely connected with your church family? There’s lots of ways, even during Covid. Not sure how? Get in touch with me and I’d love to help you.

Commitments to marriage, family, and church don’t always look or feel significant. But faithfulness in these core things over a long period is a radical, countercultural life. They form the habits of a disciple and show the world what it looks like to be a Christian. Renew your relationships, commit to them, and life will be more than bearable, it’ll become joyful.

4. Rest

New Year’s should be a time to rest. First, we rest in the reality of our identity in Jesus. We may have failed to meet our heady goals in 2020 due to Covid or some other reason but Jesus still loves us, despite our failures, unchecked boxes, and disappointment at the scale. The gospel tells us that he loves us in the midst of these.

It’s not the voice of your Savior, but the whisper of the enemy that says you have less worth because you blew your resolutions. A “more successful 2021” will not make Jesus love you any more. He’s the one, after all, who calls broken sinners and empowers them for his mission. Failed apostles, former persecutors, recovering Pharisees—his church is full of them.

Second, we should plan to physically rest. We don’t often do this on New Year’s. We plan to work and hustle. But do we schedule time to reflect and acknowledge our need for sleep and leisure? Rest isn’t a sign of laziness or weakness; it’s a sign of spiritual strength and confidence that when we close our eyes, our lives are in the grip of a sovereign God. To sleep is to say that we’re not God and that the world can go on without us. This is something I’m trying a lot harder to get better at!

So, as we make our plans, let’s remember that even in our failures, we serve the one who remembers our frame and knows we are dust at is says in Psalm 103. We make plans, but we hold them lightly. We entrust our future, not to our Apple Watch or Google Calendar or a reading list, but to the King who holds the world in his hands.