I have watched several interviews lately of people queried about resolutions they were making. Most of them admitted that their resolutions wouldn't last long and many appeared to think the whole idea was funny. Their good intentions for improvement would not last through the first week.
This has proven to be true. January is a great month for gyms, diets and purchasing exercise equipment. The gyms start to empty out in February, diets go by the wayside in a few weeks and barely used exercise equipment can be snapped up at bargain prices by the second quarter of the year.
Resolutions can be life changing or they can be discouraging. Research suggests that less than 10% of those of us who make New Year's resolutions keep them. Experts are now recommending that you keep your resolution list short, simple and specific.
How you approach resolutions make all the difference. Your evaluation process should not only include where you are (your present) and where you want to be (your future), but what has brought you to where you are (your past). Actually, many of us have been following through on resolutions for years without realizing it. The dictionary tells us so.
A resolution is defined as a firm decision to do or not to do something. All of us have made decisions in the past - some good, some bad.
A decision is defined as a conclusion or resolution reached after careful consideration. Those decisions you have already made were choices - defined as an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities.
You live by the choices you make. Some choices have great reward - like an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ, a good marriage, parenting children, working at a job you love, living in a town or city that fits your personality, developing a desired skill, etc. The opposite is also true. When we make bad choices, we have to live with the consequences.
So, you and I are where we are today by the resolutions - choices - decisions - we made yesterday. When we evaluate how we have made our choices and realize that it has put us where we are today, we can either stick with the process or revise it in order to get where we need to be in the future.
Making any decision on our own - without God's help - can lead to those bad choices. Asking God to help you make the right decisions in the future is a resolution you can keep if you have a relationship with Him. There is no decision too small or too big to take to God. If it concerns you, it concerns Him. We all need His help. I know I do. Ask Him.
Trust the Lord completely, and don't depend on your own knowledge. With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way (Proverbs 3:5-6 Easy-to-Read version).
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