Happy New Year!
It’s a new year…a new decade and time to make resolutions! What’s that, you don’t make resolutions because you don’t stick to them after the first week or so? I don’t make New Year’s resolutions either. I do tend to set goals at the beginning of a new year but this year I was thinking about resolutions in a different way. As this new year dawns, consider resolving to…
R ejoice – Philippians 4:4 tells us to rejoice in the Lord always. That’s a lofty goal, and easily dismissed as impossible. But what if we started 2020 rejoicing in all the Lord has done in our lives instead of looking back at all the ways we failed?
E xamine – A new year is a good time to examine where we are at with our physical, spiritual and relational health. This year, let’s add the Lord into the equation, and as the Psalmist says in Psalm 26:2, let’s allow the Lord to examine our hearts and minds. See where there’s room for growth, but don’t forget to listen to the positives He finds during the examination as well!
S eek – Matthew 6:31-33 encourages us to seek God’s kingdom and not worldly desires and cares for the coming year. The things of this world are so obvious to us, but focusing on the things in God’s kingdom – faith, hope, love, joy and peace will make all the baggage that comes along with life much easier to handle. It might even help us drop some of those bags!
O ffer – What does God want the most from us in this new year? He wants us – all of us. Romans 12:1-2 encourages us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord, sacrificing our earthly desires to transform our minds to things of Christ. Imagine what great things the new year could hold for us if we changed the way we think!
L ook Ahead – There’s nothing wrong with looking ahead and considering plans and goals for the coming year. Just remember to include the Lord in your plans! Proverbs 16:9 reminds us that the Lord directs the steps of His believers. We make our plans, but He might direct us differently along the way. When that happens – remember the words of Romans 8:37-39, and be encouraged that nothing that happens in this new year can keep us from God!
V alue – This year let’s work on valuing the internal over the external. 1 Peter 3:3-4 instructs us that our beauty comes from our inner selves – a gentle and quiet spirit much more than outward adornments. It can be so easy for me to focus on the external to the point that I push aside the inner self too often. This year I’m going to work on a healthy balance in this area. Join me?
E xpect – What do you expect in this new year ahead of us? Are you expecting good things, or challenges? Let’s join the author of Hebrews and fix our eyes on Jesus, throwing off the things that hold us back and focusing on His presence in our lives. We can expect love and faithfulness to follow us when we plan the good things of God. (see Proverbs 14:22.)
Above all, this new year, may we resolve to love more and look for the peace of God in our journey! May God richly bless you throughout 2020!
Paula
ps – more about goals here: https://pauladavispeace.com/2014/01/11/dreaming-about-goals/ and here: https://pauladavispeace.com/2014/01/18/are-your-goals-s-m-a-r-t/
Paula Davis 