What's your New Year's resolution?
Myself posted by Erin Davis on 12/31/09; 34 comments
Yesterday, I challenged you to resolve to put God's truth into action in 2010. I gave you five action steps based on the truths Nancy and Dannah write about in Lies Young Women Believe.
Here are eight more ways you can live out God's truth in 2010.
1. I will worry less about my circumstances this year.
God's truth says, "When I am afraid, I will trust in you" (Psalm 56:3).
The Bible is full of promises that God can be trusted to provide for us. When you feel fearful or anxious about your circumstances this year, remind yourself that God has never let anyone down and He is not going to start now!
2. I will turn my problems over to God instead of trying to handle them on my own this year.
God's truth says, "But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).
You will not face a problem in 2010 that is too big for God to handle. When you are weak, He is strong. When your tank is empty, His is full. When you have no resources of your own left, His resources are still overflowing! No matter what you will face this year, His grace is enough for you. Lean into that truth, and let it change how you respond to the circumstances that surround you.
3. This year, I will receive God's forgiveness for my past sins.
God's truth says, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
God's Word promises us that there is no sin too big for God to forgive, but so often say we are unable to forgive ourselves. If God says we're forgiven, how can we not forgive ourselves? Resting in the forgiveness that God has already promised allows you to live in freedom instead of bondage.
4. I will do what it takes to overcome a sinful habit this year.
God's truth says, "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin" (Romans 6:6–7).
God's truth is that you do not have to sin and every sinful pattern in your life can be overcome by the power of Christ living in you. That doesn't mean that overcoming sin doesn't often take work. You may need to confess your sin to a Christian adult or pastor, recruit an accountability partner, or remove a habit or relationship that has become a stumbling block in order to stop a sinful habit in your life. But God's Word promises that you can receive freedom. Believe that truth, and then do what is necessary to remove sin.
5. I will let go of the things in my past that are holding me back this year.
God's truth says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
You don't have to carry the baggage of your past. The ways you have been wronged and the ways you have wronged others don't have to be hindrances. You can let them go and live like a new creation!
6. I will turn to God's Word first when I need help and advice this year.
God's truth says, "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7).
The Word of God is alive and powerful. You can depend on it to change your life, deliver you from bondage, reveal His will for your life, and give you wise guidance. Instead of running to others first for advice this year, dig into God's Word.
7. I will embrace a God-sized challenge this year.
God's truth says, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13).
God has not commanded you to do anything that He will not give you the grace to do. That means, for example, that
- there is no one you cannot love (Matthew 5:44).
- you can give thanks in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
- there is no one you cannot forgive (Mark 11:25).
- you can be sexually pure (1 Thessalonians 4:3–4).
- you can honor your parents and respond obediently to their authority, even when you disagree with them or they are imperfect (Ephesians 6:1–3).
8. I will accept responsibility for my actions this year.
God's truth says, "The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him" (Ezekiel 18:20).
You are responsible before God for your behavior, responses, and choices. You may not be able to control the things that happen to you this year, but you can control how you respond to the things God allows to come into your life. Making the choice to stop blaming others for the negative patterns in your life and to assume personal responsibility for your own choices will free you to obey God regardless of your circumstances.
Which of these action steps will you add to your list of New Year's resolutions? Leave us a comment and tell us about it. (And be sure to check back Monday for eight more action steps based on God's truth!)
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