New Year’s Resolutions Reimagined
January 5, 2019
Like everyone else, I am drawn to make goals and resolutions at New Year’s. Historically, I don’t have a great track record for accomplishing my lofty goals and resolutions. But last year was different. Last year, I crossed off one of my bucket list items by publishing Four Weeks. Throughout 2018, I accomplished several other things that I had talked about for years, but hadn’t done anything about. Among them was launching a business with my daughter and completing my first year of ministry school.
I am not bragging. You see, I could have accomplished these same goals four years ago. I had the same time, resources, and opportunities in 2014 that I had last year. The things that were seemingly impossible in 2014 were suddenly achievable in 2018. As I reflected on it, the reason began to dawn on me. In 2014 and 2015 and 2016 and 2017, those things were MY goals and resolutions. They were MY plans and pursuits that had to be achieved by MY own willpower and strength. That may be enough to reach some goals, but is isn’t enough to sustain them. I am chagrined that this did not occur to me before. The Bible plainly states in Proverbs 19:21: “Many are the plans in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand.” (AMP)
So what was different about 2018? My goals or desires did not change. They were written on my bucket list back in 2011! They were exactly the same. King David declared in Psalms 20:4: “May the Lord grant you according to your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.” God was not expecting me to change my goals and plans. He wasn’t fighting against me, but I had not previously given Him room to help me either. While I was focus on MY success (pride), I was not focused on God’s reason for putting that desire in my heart in the first place.
2018 was different because I got OUT OF THE WAY. I realized (through prayer, reading, and a few good Sunday morning sermons) that God wanted me to finish Four Weeks because there were people who needed to read it. They were waiting for a book that spoke to them about God’s love for them, about His forgiveness, and about the hope of a future. Maybe it would be only one page or one sentence in the story that they needed to get perspective on their life or situation. I believe the business immediately sprouted following the publishing because speaking events and blogging on a website are other effective ways to get encouraging words out there, even if people don’t actually read the book.
What I could not accomplish by my own willpower became easy in 2018. I approached every evening huddled over the keyboard, every one of those checks written to the publisher, and every TV interview with a sure “knowing” in my heart that someone out there needed to hear a snatch of the Gospel in a way that only I could uniquely convey it. That is not a prideful statement. It is, in fact, deeply humbling. And highly motivating. There is no truly original content in my book, or really any other book, for that matter. But each storyteller packages and tells truth in a way that is different. Just different enough to maybe have an impact on someone – even if it is only one person.
As you approach your New Year’s goals in 2019, reimagine them. Take those goals to God. Ask Him to reveal to you what their purposes are in HIS plan for your life. Step out of the way and let HIS purpose be the motivation this year. I can assure you, based on experience, that God does not condemn you for your past New Year’s resolution failures. He is EVER ready to help you succeed because HIS purpose for those desires stands.
Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4
