Getting Things Resolved

By Dan Franklin, Pastor of Teaching 

I was recently reading an article about New Year’s resolutions. It was not an encouraging article. It walked through the 10 most common resolutions and then gave statistical information on how most people fail to follow through on those resolutions. People join gyms in January, but by February, 60% of those memberships are unused. People vow to stop smoking, but only about 15% are smoke-free after six months. Similar statistics were given for those who resolve to get out of debt, travel to new places, or spend more time with their families. It painted a pretty bleak picture of people’s ability to follow through with their goals.

At the same time, most of us probably continue to look at the first of the year as a time to take stock and make goals. I want to take a moment to encourage us all to do this. Take stock and make goals. But I also want to encourage you that God gives us a different grid for how we will grow and move forward. Our hope for change is not in our own will power, but in the work of God in and through us. Because of this, I want to suggest three resolutions that are valuable for all of us.

Give yourself to God’s Word. The Bible is not God’s set of rules for us. God’s Word is His unveiling of who He is. God changes us through His Spirit (Galatians 5:16-18). We are transformed as we become increasingly clear on who God is (2 Corinthians 3:18). When we neglect God’s Word, the problem is not that we are breaking a Christian rule. The problem is that we are cutting ourselves off from how God has revealed Himself to us. When we read the Bible and think about it and pray about it and respond to it, we open ourselves up to the God who wants to break the chains of everything that enslaves us. So, how are you going to open yourself up to God changing you through His Word?

Give yourself to God’s people. About four years ago, I dropped some weight. I am convinced that the main reason I was successful was because I joined a group of a dozen others who were doing the same thing. People shared ideas and kept each other going. God has created us to be in relationships, and not to go it alone (Genesis 2:18). God created us to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:24-25), confess ours sins to one another (James 5:16), love one another (John 13:34), and experience unity in the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13). When we join a LIFE Group, or connect with friends, or pray with others, we find that God uses other people to empower us to follow Him more closely. So, how are you going to open yourself up to God changing you through His people?

Give yourself to God’s work. For an athlete, the key to growth is not reading books or watching game film. The key to growth is action. This is true of any area of life. Those who speak in public improve when they get up and speak. Those who work in medicine grow when they practice medicine. If you want to grow in your relationship with God, the key is to respond to God in faith with simple steps of obedience. Whether this involves a mission trip or a service project, or whether it simply involves reaching out to a neighbor or writing notes of encouragement to people, God is calling everyone to take part in His quest to draw people to the freedom and life that He offers. So, how are you going to open yourself up to God changing you through His work?

As we begin 2014, I encourage you to approach this year with neither pessimism about your ability to change nor optimism about the power of your own will. I encourage you to approach this year with faith in God’s ability to bring transformation into your life, and with a faith-filled plan to open yourself up to His work in your life.