It's January 8th, a week of the new year has already gone by, and people are likely still thinking about resolutions. He wants to floss every day, they want to read a certain number of books every month, she wants to cook an actual meal once a week, I want to run more consistently. When people look back on the last year, they see things that they wish they could have done differently, things they want to improve on for the next year, so they resolve to do so. After all, it's a new year - it's time to start over fresh.
I don't remember how young I was when I started making New Year's resolutions, but it didn't take me long to discover how hard it is to actually maintain a commitment to them. It usually only took me until January 8th or so to not do whatever I had "resolved" to do. I didn't floss that one night, or I skipped the morning run, or I ate three-too-many cookies after lunch, or I neglected my devotional time. Whatever it was, my resolve disappeared, and I felt guilty about it.
Now, maybe this is just me, but it seems that after that first time that I failed, things would fall apart after that. I would try to pick things back up, but after my second and third failures, I would just forget my resolutions entirely. Maybe I would last a month, but after that, nothing. That's why I don't like making resolutions for the new year. There's no way I'll last an entire 365 days. Gracious, I barely last a week with the kind of resolve I have.
However, taking stock of the last year and hoping for change in certain areas is a good thing. We fallen human beings need change and growth. I want to change and grow. I want to go running more consistently and eat healthier, but more than that I want to spend time with my Creator. I want to know Him and love Him with all of who I am. I want to stop giving Him empty lip service and start living for Him whole-heartedly, even in my most private moments when no one is there to make sure I do the right thing. I know that God is always near to me, but I want to walk near to Him. I want to be mind-full of Christ each day.
But, reader, it would be foolish of me to "resolve" to do those things. I am weak and broken, and, to be completely honest, I've already failed this year.
So do I simply give up? If I know I'm weak and bound to fail, what hope is there for change?
Gratefully, it's not up to me to change my heart. God doesn't leave me on my own to try to live righteously. He knows my weaknesses more fully than I do, and He invites me to lean on His grace and strength. I can pray that He would help me to walk with Him. In this there is abundant hope.
But what if I still fail? What if you still fail? The fact is that it's not really a question of "if" - it's a question of "when." We are bound to fail. Yet, that is no cause for despair. Because just as 2013 is a new year, every single day is a new day, and God's mercies are new every morning (Check out Lamentations 3:22-24). We do make mistakes. Lots of them. But God's grace goes far deeper than our sin, and His strength overwhelms our weaknesses. So whether or not you make resolutions, in this new year, as each new day comes, you can live in joy and confidence knowing that our Redeemer is with us, He is for us, and He is making all things new.
