New Year’s Resolution
His Comments
Her Comments
Scripture:
Thoughts:
With it nearing the end of 2025, my wife has chosen a few passages out of Isaiah and made the topic of this month’s devotional, “New Year’s Resolution!” It is enjoyable to write these devotions and try to guess what my wife will write about, since I do not read her devotion until after I write mine. A lot of times they align with each other, but this month, I think they may end up being quite a bit different. When she told me the topic, I immediately thought about a conversation I had with friends earlier this year. We were discussing promises people make, along with promises made to God, and how often those promises are broken. Oftentimes it is unintentional, as life has a way of throwing us curve balls and getting us off track.
The idea of promises and New Years resolutions leaves me thinking about Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, which states, “When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.” Since becoming Christian, these two passages and the story of Jephthah and his daughter come to mind every time I consider making promises. For those that do not remember the story of Jephthah, he was a judge of Israel who made a foolish vow. He vowed that if God gave him victory in an upcoming battle against the Ammonites, he would sacrifice whatever first came out of his door when he returned home. His daughter excitedly rushed out the door to greet her father upon his return. He was devastated, stating what he had vowed to the Lord. After two months reprieve, Judges 11:39 states, “she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he made.”
Jephthah was wrong for multiple reasons. God did not ask or require him to make a vow for the victory in his upcoming battle. Jephthah did so because of his own foolishness. Next, if he did sacrifice his daughter, that specifically goes against what God forbade in Leviticus 20:1-5.
As you go into 2026 and make New Year’s resolutions, remember not to make foolish promises when it comes to the LORD. Are all promises bad? Not at all. Should we avoid making vows to “start eating better” or “working out more?” Those are good things, as 1 Corinthians tells us, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you.” Vows and oaths are not bad, just do not make them too flippantly.
To conclude, I imagine my wife will ask a few times before 2026 starts, “What are your New Year’s resolutions?” I imagine I’ll mention health, as that is one of my struggles. My flesh is weak, and I have a love for sweets. While it would be foolish to make a promise to God to reach a specific health or weight goal, knowing how God has blessed me makes it easier to submit to His will and rely on His strength. Apart from Him, I can do nothing.
It is a new hour, a new day, and a new year! You know what that means, New Year’s Resolutions! This is an excellent time for us to reflect on our habits and commitments and try to better ourselves. In fact, the Lord wants us to keep bettering ourselves. To paraphrase what is told to us in Ephesians 4:22-24, “put off our old self and put on the new self, as we are created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” As I sat down to consider my resolutions for this coming year, I came up with three ideas to consider.
The first being a reflection on the past year to see flaws that we have created for ourselves. We make grand plans and attempt them with vigor, at least for a week or two! However, how many of us consider that we will never accomplish our goals because we are relying on our own willpower? We need to remember that our goals should be centered around God’s will, and that God has us in His hands. Proverbs 16:3 tells us, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and it will be established; your plans will succeed.”
This is easier said than done! My past goals have always dealt with weight, money, housekeeping, and reading. As I reflect on those past goals, I am realizing I did not center my life and my goals on God. Granted, I rely on God’s guidance throughout my day-to-day life, but I need to put His will first when considering my future goals. To do this, I need to focus on the Bible and how scripture relates to my goals. We can find lessons about most things if we take the time to look and read God’s word. Consider the four past goals I mentioned above, what could I have learned had I first went to scripture?
- Weight: 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Weather you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
- Money: Proverbs 21:5, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”
- Housecleaning: 1 Corinthians 14:40, “But all things should be done decently and in order.”
- Reading (Education): Proverbs 18:15, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”
Secondly, consider what we are consuming and ask ourselves if that aligns with Gods will for our lives. For example, if I want to read more but I keep reading trashy novels, God is not going to support my endeavor. If I read more of the Bible and books that enrich my mind and spirit, that aligns with His will and my betterment. This does not mean I cannot read fiction, but I need to be mindful with the type of material I consume. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us, “but test everything; hold fast what is good.”
My last thought is that we should not wait until January 1st to change our lives for the better. To paraphrase Lamentations 3:22–23, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed … His mercies are new every morning.” When we feel convicted, we should make plans and try to do better. In fact, we do not have to wait for a particular year, day, hour, or minute. I have always fought weight issues. I used to have the mindset, “I will try to restart tomorrow or next week.” It was not until the last few years that I heard someone say, “If you mess up a meal, restart the next meal and do not wait until tomorrow!” The longer you wait to make a difference, the bigger the hole you dig for yourself. In other words, treat every moment as a chance to make a difference.
So, as you make plans to better your life, keep these things in mind: Put God first. Test your resolution to make sure it will make your life better in the eyes of God. If you feel convicted, make a resolution at that moment and turn to your Bible for help.
Thoughts to Consider:
Is God convicting you to make a change?
Are you praying and asking for guidance?
What does the Bible say about your resolutions?
Are you surrendering to God daily and allowing Him to guide you?
God Bless.