What are some of your resolutions this year? Losing weight? Being a little bit nicer? Praying and reading the Bible more?
We all have them. We all have things we want to change. We all have things we can change. What if I told you that tomorrow you could start completely over? What if I told you tomorrow everything that happened this past year didn’t affect your future any longer? What if I told you…this is legitimate and not just a hopeful exaggeration?
If you are reading this and you take the Bible as God’s word then you can accept this beautiful and wonderful fact. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 proclaims that you are set free from your past and you are a new creation. This is not some far off dream, this is the reality that comes with the Gospel and relationship with Jesus Christ.
We all have regrets. We all have things we wish we didn’t do, say, or see. We have all messed up. But when we turn to Christ, He wipes away our disgusting and filthy slate and clothes us in purity and newness. We are saved by the ultimate and complete grace of God. But does that mean we should keep on in our sin because God will forgive anyways? Of course not! Romans 6:1-4 clarifies that for us.
Let me put it this way: If you have ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend you either know what it’s like to cheat, be cheated on, or know what it would feel like if that happened to you. Let’s say you get caught cheating, but you still love your boyfriend/girlfriend. Do you keep cheating? Of course not (Unless you are a jerk). Does God still love you fully? Yes! Can He ever love you more or less? No! He will always have a 100% passionate love for you and this was demonstrated through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. But if we truly love Him, we will give up our sin and obey him…because we love him.
The best part? It’s not too late. You have never wondered so far off the path you can’t follow Him. In fact, God works best with those who have fallen farther.
This year, as you make your resolutions, remember you can’t do them on your own. Here are a couple tips to help you.
1. Make it practical
One of my goals this year is to lose weight, eat healthier, become a better leader, and manage my time better. I am already putting in place plans for going about these resolutions. Make them practical and realistic. Set small goals and make them bigger as you achieve more.
2. Make it accountable
One of the worst things we can do is make a resolution and not tell anyone. Let your best friends, parents, pastors, etc. know what your goals are and make them keep you accountable. Your new goals will fail if you don’t have accountability.
3.Make it REM
When fundraising, they tell us to use the acronym REM Remind: Encourage: Motivate. Keep your goals/resolutions in front of you at all times. Print out pages with your goals and post them in your room, locker, phone, etc. Don’t let one day slip by. Stay motivated (Watch motivational speeches on Youtube, they actually help me).
4. Make it about God
You can’t do it on your own. The only way you will effectively meet your goals for this new year is through Christ (Philippians 4:11-13). Secondly, literally make your resolutions about God. If you want to lose weight, do it because you want to honor God with your body. If you want to overcome those tough relationships or circumstances, do it because you want to glorify God.
When your goals are about something more than you, you will become a person of passion and purpose. When you achieve the small things, God will give you grace to achieve the big things.
