How was your 2022? I hope it was blessed. I was blessed to be able to compete in a bodybuilding competition and win my division, the athletes I coach did well overall and I experienced good health. It was a great year. I found a new sense of resolve coming out of the Covid restrictions early on and so the year unfolded really well.
But what about 2023?
I want this year to continue the momentum from the previous but a fear creeps in that it won’t. Now I’m a goal setter and always have a series of resolutions. Last year I pretty much hit the mark which is exciting. But that was last year, what about this one? The struggle then becomes how do I continue? How do I maintain momentum? Although much is outside my control, how can I seek to do my part to ensure this happens? I need to put the resolve into my resolutions!
As I’ve pondered the topic, I know how much people struggle with sticking with their fitness goals and also their journey as a Christian walk. This is especially the case when unexpected difficulties come so I wanted to re-examine the subject. We have great intentions, we’re going to walk close to God, we’re going to hit those fitness goals, we’re going to live a life that makes a difference but then …we…. just….drift…..
Finding resolution
So let me share some thoughts on the resolve needed for resolutions.
“This year is going to be different” Have you ever said that to yourself? Does this describe you? Have you made resolutions you didn’t keep? “No!” you say, “I don’t make resolutions.” Why not? More often than not its due to fear of failure so in the end we fail to set goals which to me is an even more dangerous thing then starting and failing.
A survey conducted by Hunter Public Relations found that 88% of those questioned were unsuccessful in accomplishing their New Year’s resolution. Author Michael York suggests this number may be as high as 95% or greater. York suggests that the success rate is so low due to a couple of factors: 1) most people expect not to keep a resolution, and 2) most people don’t know how to truly set goals or don’t believe it matters.
Train yourself to be Godly
Resolution means determining to resolve or fix your purpose onto some end or goal. “Wait a minute here Chris,” some of you may be saying, “what does this have to do with my walk with God? It sounds like self-help, motivational speaking here.”
No, it’s in the Bible.
Really?
Paul wrote to Timothy, “train yourself to be Godly” (1 Timothy 4:7). How do you train yourself unless you have an objective….or a GOAL??
To put resolve into resolution, to experience all that God would have us experience, we need to do more than hope, we need to purposefully work towards it. In this letter Paul is advising Timothy, a young pastor, on how to be effective in the role. Notice it’s a purposeful lifestyle, not some magical event that happens.
It takes effort
Take a look at the text if you have your Bible handy. Verse 1 sets the tone and up to verse 7 it deals with his pastoral responsibilities but then it becomes more personal, as Paul often did with Timothy, and we find a number of things useful for us. Paul goes on to show us that to train ourselves it takes effort!
In His second letter to Timothy Paul used the examples of an athlete and a soldier. This was to remind him of the need to learn skills, abilities, gain strength needed to succeed in the goal of having a life-impacting relationship with God
Back to our text, later in verse 14 he reminds us: don’t neglect the gift given to us. We all have a gift. We shouldn’t neglect it, it’s a gift. Just like on Christmas, you need to open it, unwrap it, do something with it! Use your gift! No one sets out to be spiritually flabby, it happens due to neglect.
Stick with it
In verse 15 he then says be diligent, give yourself wholly. What’s he saying? Stick with it! We need to purpose to do it, no half measures…be devoted, let your light shine.
Then he ends the instruction in verse 16 with: “watch your life and doctrine closely, persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” Watch what? Your: life-what you do matters and your doctrine-what you believe matters.
So, stick with it, persevere. What does that take? Resolution. How do we know we’re doing it? How do we grow in this? By setting goals and then working towards them.
Convinced?
I guess that’s between you and God. But as I move further into 2023 a sense of optimism grows that this year will be special if I keep my resolve.
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