That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?  Don’t we all love the idea of a new beginning?  Starting fresh. Leaving old habits behind. Promising to be kinder, thinner, more organized, smarter etc. etc.

The upcoming New Year affects nearly everyone in some way.  Whether you’re one of those people who writes out specific, attainable, step-by-step resolutions, and then accomplishes them, or if you’ve long ago recognized your own futility in attempting to hold fast to your goals, most of us at least give it a passing notion.  I’m much closer to the latter end of that spectrum!

There’s certainly nothing wrong with taking stock of where you are spiritually, emotionally, relationally, physically or any other category you might choose.  Improving ourselves is a noble endeavor, so this is not my attempt to dissuade anyone from their goals.  Who knows, I might even work on a few things myself.

This is my attempt to put goal setting, especially those associated with the turning of a calendar year, in a biblical perspective.  And provide a more encouraging outlook for us all.

For every one person who achieves a few resolutions, there are likely hundreds who do not.  So, inherent in this process is a whole slew of disappointment!  It’s quite likely the reason I tend toward the “been there, done that, not sustainable” end of the resolution-setting spectrum.

So I want to bypass some of this resolution nitty-gritty, and hit the big picture stuff instead.

First of all and most importantly, if you’re reading this and you haven’t placed your faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, there is no greater life-changing decision than to do just that.  This is what 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

I can’t do justice to all that entails in this blog post, but I would love the opportunity to connect with anyone who wants to know more about what this means for their life.  Without question, this is the best “new beginning” you’ll ever experience.

If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, but still struggle with the effects of sin in this world, there is biblical encouragement for you, too.  Honestly, this applies to every one of us, because we all wrestle with this challenge.

The Bible does speak into this reality of our lives.

If there are things about your life you’ve tried to change and have failed over and over again, I believe this verse can give you some hope.  It’s one of my favorites because it reminds me of just where the power of change originates.

But he [God} said to me {Apostle Paul}, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9.

That’s the simple (although not easy) answer to our inability to accomplish so many of the goals we’d like to.  If it’s in God’s will, then HE is the one who will do that work in you.  Tap into it.  You’ll be amazed at what God can do when we turn the control and the result over to him.

Now what about the frustrations we feel every time we struggle with so many of the same challenges day after day?  Or when we pick up some new ways we can live outside of God’s will for us?  Maybe we lose our patience regularly.  Perhaps we struggle to tell the truth. Or we treat those who are different from us in disrespectful ways.  Just list any of the innumerable ways we can sin in the way we live our lives, and treat those we meet along the way. This struggle always reminds me of what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7:15:

 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

Yep, I can relate to that all day long.  What do we do with that pattern?  Is there a solution for it?  This one is a two-parter.

Step 1:   Ask God to forgive us when we fall short of being Christ-like in our interactions with us.  Then know this:

… as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

You can’t get farther away than the east from the west!  There’s a “new beginning” every time we confess our sins and our shortcomings to God.  He’s already forgiven us, and Jesus has already paid the penalty for those sins.

Step 2:  Go back to 2 Corinthians 12:9!  So, we messed up.  Of course, we did!  After repentance, again ask God to work in your life to make you more like him.

This is very much a “rinse and repeat” process.  We’ll be doing this until the day we die!  But hopefully we’ll experience some incremental, but eventual changes in our character and in the practical ways we can show God’s love to those around us.

As God works in our lives, I believe our goals and resolutions will become more and more in line with what he wants for us.

So, if we boil this all down to one main resolution, for me it would be this:  “Dear God, make me more Christ-like.”  A simple request, but oh boy, be prepared for God to work in some challenging and even painful ways.  But there is no greater or more effective Potter than God.  The end result will be so worth it.

May 2023 be the year that God begins or continues the process of molding you into exactly the person he created you to be.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely,

and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23