This past Sunday, our pastor’s wife was leading Children’s Church when she reminded us of something we did for the New Year of 2024. She had encouraged each of us to write down a faith-related resolution to accomplish by the end of the year. I obliged and wrote down a resolution that I had already begun working on, but I wanted to make more of an impact with it in 2024.
Now I should explain that I’m not normally a fan of resolutions because I feel like they are a good way to set myself up for failure at the very beginning of a new year. I prefer to start a new year with a list of adjustable goals. I don’t see them as things I must complete by the end of the year, or I have failed. Instead, I see this list of goals as things I hope to do, but the steps are always evolving according to what I can accomplish throughout the year. Sometimes, I have goals that move from one year to another while remaining on the list, but as long as I’m working on them, I’m okay with that.
When she began to read some of the resolutions aloud, I was touched by many of them because they related to being a better follower of Christ or being a better spouse or parent. As she read, I remembered what I had written as a resolution. I wanted to reach people about faith with a blog. When she read it, I realized that I was able to say that, yes, I had a Bible blog that I had been writing on consistently for several months (found here Endurance for Every Day). It doesn’t have many followers or readers, but it is an important step of faith for me. Even as I type this, I also realize that I share my faith every Friday on this blog as well. I feel blessed that God helped me develop consistency in sharing my faith this year.
I still don’t make a list of resolutions for the New Year. I’m content with my goal-setting because it provides a plan as I move forward, but I don’t feel like I’m holding myself bound to it in a constricting or confining way. A goal list simply helps me stay on the path God is revealing to me one step at a time, and I’m walking that path with resolution and purpose.
As I wrote this, I remembered someone once teaching on verses from Habakkuk. While the writer was waiting on a word of prophecy from the Lord, he wrote:
I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint. The Lord answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late. Look, his ego is inflated; he is without integrity. But the righteous one will live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:1-4, CSB)
The point the teacher wanted us to understand about these verses is that we are to be at our appointed place waiting for what God will have us do. We are to be doing what we’re supposed to be doing while we wait for further instructions, and those instructions will arrive at just the right time because we live by faith.
Resolutions are less about a list of things we feel pressured to do in any given year. Instead, we are to be about the life and work God has for us with resolution. When we invite God into setting our goals, He will be the purpose we are working toward, and He will provide us the strength and skills to accomplish those goals if we are faithful. Let’s move forward this year with resolution to work for God here on earth.
All Things Subject to Change 