New Year's Resolutions

As I got ready to ring in two double naught seven, I wondered if I should make any New Year’s resolutions. I could stand to lose weight, exercise more, get rid of my junk, or a long list of other things. But it seems that the list is the same every year. I got to thinking that maybe I was going about the resolution thing the wrong way. Just the way resolutions are – “I resolve to …” – makes it egocentric. It’s all about me. So, what if my resolutions are God focused, instead? Maybe like, “I’ll spend more time reading the Bible or I’ll give more generously,” but those are still focused on my thoughts and ideas.

How do you include God into this equation? I have had many occasions where I have felt that God was pushing me to do something. Maybe it was to volunteer at church or even something as simple as calling people to cheer them up. If you spend time in The Word and in prayer, I bet the same thing happens to you. You get little signs that indicate you should be doing something and often times something specific. And if you are like me, you don’t always follow through or you rationalize the message away.

So this year, I am going the turn this process over to God. I’ll let Him make the decisions and I’ll try to do the legwork. If I can do this, it will mean that I’m spending time on the more important things (and it might improve my resolution success rate!). That said, my resolution is this: “In 2007, I resolve to do the things that God puts on my heart to do.” It don’t know if it will mean helping a neighbor, teaching a class, or leading a march in Washington, D.C., but if I place my trust where it should be, how can I go wrong?

Happy New Year