| Trusting in resolutions or God's grace? |
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| Written by David Charlton |
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The New Year is here!!! For many people, this brings excitement and anticipation as they set their New Year's resolutions. Some will decide to eat less and exercise more in order to lose weight. Others will decide to read more or become more knowledgeable about an interesting field of study. Many will decide to spend less money and get out of debt. There are some who will even decide to study Scripture and pray more. All of these resolutions are wonderful attempts to better ourselves. This is great! We should all desire to become better people. The vast majority of people, however, will fail to live up to these resolutions. They might do well through February but by the time March rolls around, they'll most likely violate their resolution. When April or May comes, the resolution will become a distant memory. Just ask yourself, "How many people do I know who kept a resolution for an entire year?" Now ask yourself, "How many people do I know who failed to keep his/her resolution?" Although we have great intentions, our success rate is abysmally low. The problem is that our will-power is not sufficient to change our hearts. We can try as hard as we can to change but, at some point, our sinful attitudes and desires will derail us. Does this mean there is no hope for us? Should we simply give up and continue with our bad and destructive habits? The answer is, of course, no! We have hope but it is not in our own ability to change. It is in God's ability to change us! God begins the process of changing us once we repent and trust Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Repentance is simply deciding you want to live a Godly life characterized by love rather than a sinful life. Trusting in Jesus as Savior and Lord simply means you believe that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is sufficient to take away all your sins and you want to surrender your life to the lordship of Christ. When we repent and trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit enters our hearts and begins the process of transforming us into the image of Christ. It says in Romans 5:5, ".God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us." It also says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." In this way, the Holy Spirit enables us to change our bad habits. As we walk with Christ, we become more like him. Instead of setting a New Year's resolution, get in the habit of asking God to change you. Start each morning asking God to change you. End each day asking God to change you. Identify a bad habit and ask God to change it. Matthew 7:7-8 states, "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." God wants you to become a better person and will answer your prayer. Don't get me wrong. This does not mean you don't have to do any hard work to make a positive life style change. If you want to stop drinking, you will still have to avoid the bars. If you want to stop frivolous spending, you will still have to avoid the malls. If you want to lose weight, you will still have to adjust your schedule to make room for working out. Your hard work, however, will become worth it because God will empower you to make the necessary changes. A year from now, you'll look back and realize you are a better person! |
