New Years Resolutions are not much good to anyone, in terms of body shaping or quitting anything. Having an arbitrary date as the basis for why you are going to commit to changing something that requires dedication and determination, ends up being a really poor basis. I don't demean anyone that wants to change their life for the better. Lord knows I do and I have to. I just think there are better reasons to do it, that are more lasting and motivating. You should have New You Resolutions.
I think New Years is a great time to do it. It is custom made to bracket your time, gage your progress. It presents a great opportunity to do so. It is reinforced by the input of society around us. There are few more times more conducive to success.
And, I am not immune. I understand the need to change and to improve and have the bug so to speak. But, I avoid doing it for New Years. For example, I need to be healthier in 2016, so that I can enjoy life with Katrina. This is a good time to start a new regiment of health and track my progress, but I am doing it for me, and Katrina. I need to be more organized and timely in 2016, so that I reduce my stress. I put a lot of the stress in my life on myself, and this is a great time to adopt new methods and track my progress.
But, for any kind of resolution to be successful, it has to be a NEED. You have to need to do it, and approach it in that way, for any change to be long term and successful. I think that this puts the power of God on your side.
God knows what we need. I think that if we need something, that is worthwhile, God becomes an irresistable force. He cannot be overcome, and you ultimately are successful. You don't need to win the Lotto, but you may need to be more financially sound and independent. You don't need to marry a Kardashian, but you may need to find a social circle that provides sustaining and enriching relationships. You don't need to see the Redskins win the Super Bowl, but it would not hurt anyone in the world, now would it?
That last one I just threw in there. But, things that are needs energize the power of God on your side. Any power that can make a mountain move, can feed thousands from a cooler's worth of food, can save you from death, is going to make sure you are successful. That is the power that we all need to gain for our resolutions and our improvements.
We are untrustworthy to determine our needs. We NEED to pray over it and ask God. A Lexus is not a need. Financial independence that allows you to drive whatever vehicle you desire, can be a need. A 4 bedroom house is not a need. A home that is secure, warm and healthy for your whole family is a need. A certain size TV screen is not a need. Nothing about TV is a need, that doesn't make it necessarily bad, it just is not a need.
But, after careful prayer and consideration, if it is on our heart as a need, then it is worth pursuing with all the power of God. That means continuing to pray and focus on it with God. That means continuing to listen to the voice of God in your life. That means being open to the change God is going to work in your life.
When you reach that point, and get onto that path, nothing is out of your reach. Nothing is beyond your potential, if you are growing in God. We are created in God's image, which means we have no limit, no cap on our growth. In that way, and that way alone, are we still, in this broken world, true children of God. Nothing is more evident, when you begin that journey.
Find someone that energized God in their life, that accepted the course of Christ in their life, and you cannot help but understand what I am saying. There is nothing about them that proclaims they triumphed, they are clearly, and claim to only be, the vessel of change that God filled and overflowed. They shine with something that is not definable by our senses, but plainly evident to our souls.
Now the wants come in. I really want to be that person. I want it to be evident in me, in ways that are not definable by our sense, but is plainly evident to everyone else's soul. I want that in my life in a way that I cannot express. I NEED to be closer and more entwined in God and His word. I NEED to be alive in Christ, in ways that I cannot even see now.
How do I do that? Well, after much prayer, and lots of consideration, I have to act. God is a god of faith, and we walk by faith, not by sight, but He is also a god of action. I have to act, have to seek a change, for God to be visible in my life. That is a false premise in lots of the books and "self-help" media out there, that we have to act first to get God to act. The fact is that God has already been acting, to get you to the point that your recognize the NEED. God is going to act in your life, and continue acting in your life, regardless of your input.
I NEED to act, if I want to be the change that I desire. Need comes before want, but if you don't want to meet the need, nothing ever happens. It is not that you have to just discern between wants and needs. You have to identify your NEEDs, and then you have to want them. It is not a decision between needs and wants. For example, every smoker knows that they need to stop smoking, to be healthier. But, until they acknowledge that, and want the need, it is not going to happen.
So, what is my point to this ramble? After lots of prayer and consideration, I have come to understand some NEEDs in my life. I NEED to be and live healthier. I NEED to better organize and utilize my time. I NEED to expand my knowledge and practice of my faith. There are lots more needs, as I am generally just a big, hot mess. But, those are the ones that God has put on my heart to act upon. I think he has set me up on a path that has informed that knowledge, as the things in my life are pushing me directly to these needs.
That makes my setting of resolutions easy. Healthier, better organization and utilization of time, and expansion of knowledge and practice of faith. That is a pretty full agenda, and some pretty lofty goals. I would tell you that there is absolutely no Joe way to see these accomplished. Based on past experience and actions, this is undoable, I have years of documented evidence that this is impossible.
But, God tells me that He is the God of impossible. He is the architect of undoable. He has overcome. What do I say to that, other than let Your will be done. I NEED God's will more than I need anything of Joe's desire. So, rather than being discouraged at the task in front of me, or concerned about how this will happen, I am energized. I have absolutely no idea how God is going to make this happen.
I have plenty of ideas around what God is going to do. I have prayed on each of these NEEDs and have an answer for each. I have written them down, and I am going to track these changes. Small incremental changes that can be continued are important, and then add one additional change each month. Small allows sustainment, incremental allows seeing progress, compounding benefit drives encouraging drive, but have to be informed by prayer and sustained by faith.
For example, what is healthier? What three things can change that are sustainable and informed? Healthier, for me, means some small, but big, changes. No soda except at meals. 3 helpings of salad a week. Cut out chips and processed salty foods. Those three things, if sustained, probably cut 20-40% of the calories out of my diet, triples my input of fiber and cut my sodium intake by 75%, regardless of how much salt I add to food.
Make that for a month, and then I can add something new. By the second week of the month, I will identify what to add. If I am struggling with adding salad to my diet, doing something around adding more raw vegetables to my diet is kind of foolish. If I am doing well with chips and salty stuff, then maybe it is limiting the amount of salt I add to food. But, you capitalize on gains, drive through success. Continue to work on what is a struggle, but adding additional constraint and focus will only result in less success, discouragement and loss of commitment. I know this from long personal experience.
It is the same for the rest. If you have not spent time in prayer and consideration, I urge to reconsider making resolutions until you do so. I mean it, better to make a Valentine's Day resolution informed by prayer and preparation, then a New Years resolution that you guess at, and don't remember in 3 weeks. God wants to be a power in your life, but He will only be a power at the things He thinks are most important and urgent. I would suggest you trust the architect of the universe for things like priority and importance. He is a much better expert than you, and He wants to be your expert, which is the most important thing.
Suppose you are not in a place to do resolutions? You will not regret time spent in prayer and consideration. That might lead to nothing more complicated than just praying every day. But, while uncomplicated, I can think of no more important and powerful life change. And nothing is a greater NEED to be prayerful and in communion with God.
It is a great time, but it is not the only time. Whenever, if you stop struggling and try to figure out what God wants in your life, you will get the answers. God does not have to come near, He is already there. There is no part of you that is not filled with God, whether you realize it or not.
I have faith that you can have a wonderful year. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So, regardless of your past performance, regardless of your previous history, completely regardless of your sins and failures, there is substance in things hoped for, and evidence of things not seen. Faith, and I have it in you, because God does. In Him all things are possible.
That is the New Years premise that we should all recognize. In Him all things are possible. I have faith that if you get in Him, and realize He is already in you, all things are possible through Christ who strengthens you. I like New Years, it is a great time to look forward. I urge you to take in the most important Christian tenet, all things are possible through Christ who strengthens you, therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Happy New Year! The new is here! I pray and have faith that it will be a new year for you, and a great kind of new. I pray that God continues to bless us all, and that we all recognize those blessings.
GLYASDI
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