Biblical Resolutions Part:1

Cheers sweet friends, the New Year is fastly approaching and 2018 is winding down to a close. Does anyone else feel that the years spent raising small children seem to fly by. I think there is a lot of truth in the saying, “the days are long, but the years are fast,” when you have little ones. That has certainly been the case for me since having babies, the last three years have flown by.

With 2019 right around the corner, let’s discuss New Years resolutions. I know everyone has a different opinion about them. I happen to be the kind of girl that lives for my resolutions. I just love the opportunity of a fresh start. I get great joy out of sitting down and setting some lofty expectations for the year to come. On top of my enjoyment for setting resolutions, I have a pretty good track record of actually accomplishing the things I write down. Last year, I had one resolution: lose my baby weight. Between January and March I lost over 40 pounds. I don’t want this to come out as sounding braggadocios. Resolutions are just a great form of motivation for me. Remember my love for to-do lists? Well, thats what resolutions are to me, objectives on a list that I can’t wait to mark off.

I tell you all of this to say, that this year I have decided that there may be a better way to go about this quest for yearly achievement. What if my resolutions weren’t all about me? What if they focused more on loving and serving others than on looking good in my jeans? What if I looked to the bible for inspiration, instead of trying to obtain worldly quests of self-improvement. Maybe I should talk to God about what areas of my life he would like to transform? I decided to do a little research on this subject, and this is what I came up with:

Making yearly resolutions isn’t discussed in the bible, but God does call us to regularly reflect on the way we are living and if we are not headed in the right direction we are supposed to seek Him to help get us back on course.

Lamentations 3:40 “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.”

In Luke, chapter 14, Jesus urges us to make our plans carefully so that we can follow through on what we set out to do.

Luke 14:28-31 Jesus says: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?”

I believe it is very important to take our resolutions to the Lord in prayer and ask Him if they line up with His plans for our life. I know there have been times where I have thought I had the best idea in the world, but after praying about it, the Lord showed me it wasn’t the right thing. For me, I know it is not God’s will if  I get a strong feeling of uneasiness about an idea after praying. I know God’s ways are so much greater than my ways and His plan so much greater than mine. Even so, it is sometimes hard to lay down goals and dreams that are not for you in this season.

Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:9 “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

Recently our pastor gave a great message about one of the most popular verses in the bible Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” He argued that this verse is being vastly misused. I have to admit, that prior to the sermon I was using the verse out of context. The reality is, we are not supposed to make up our plans and goals and then rest on the thought that Christ will give us the strength to do whatever “we” want to do. If you dig into the context of Philippians 4:13 you will see that it actually means, Christ will give us the strength to do anything that HE has asked us to do. We have unlimited strength, power and might when we are doing HIS will not ours. This idea convinces me all the more that it is time to transform my New Years resolutions from the self centered goals they have been in the past to the Christ centered plans God will provide for me when I draw near to him.

I have decided to do a Part 2 to this blog. I am going to spend some time in prayer and in the Bible over the next few days as I seek what resolutions God is calling me to make for 2019. I am excited to share these resolutions and the process I took to put them together in my next blog post.

Until then; be blessed,

Tatum