How many times do we make New Year’s resolutions only to break them within a short time? Countless. It sometimes seems almost impossible to keep a certain New Year’s resolution.
However, as I was contemplating this fact just a little while ago, I realized that we are making these resolutions with ourselves, and that is a very important fact to consider.
We try to keep ourselves accountable and we rely on our own strength to do what we have consented with ourselves to do.
Me, myself and I are not very good at keep promises and keeping accountable, and they are not good at giving anyone strength and energy to carry out tasks. We have all seen it happen time and again. Me, myself and I are irresponsible, selfish, unreliable persons. However, God is not. If we make our New Year’s resolution to God, He will keep us accountable and give us the strength to carry out our resolutions. And let’s just face it: Me, myself and I will probably work a little harder to keep accountable if they have a proper fear of God and know that He is watching them every moment of the day. It also helps to know that you made a promise to someone and not just yourself, and another fact we must face is that we keep promises to other people better than we do to ourselves, and making a promise with God is a much bigger thing:
“When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.” Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
Obviously God does not like it when we make a promise to Him and then break it.
Does it send chills up and down your spine? It does mine!
However, we as humans cannot keep our promises: we have not the strength to do so. We may try our best, but we fail, that is not the best at all when we make the promise to God. Instead, we must learn to rely on His strength to help us keep our promises. His strength is the very best and will help us do the very best. His strength can see us all the way through it no matter what it is!
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13
“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth…and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:18b & 20b
Even though Jesus was talking about teaching the nations of the earth in Matthew, that power that he spoke of can dwell in us and strengthen us in all that we do. It can even help us keep the promises and New Year’s resolutions that we make.
So while you make your New Year’s resolution this coming year, why not resolve to rely on your Creator and His son to help you through all that you do, and why not make your resolutions to Him, instead of yourself, so that you can use His strength to help you along as He keeps you accountable? That is what I am definitely going to do!
God Bless you all this coming year!
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2 comments:
Well I have often wondered at why people do that my self. not only why the can't stick with things more then they so even on their own strength, and why on earth do then turn around and try the same thing next year when they failed the year before?
Most resolutions even ones mad to God will fail if we don't strive for them wholeheartedly.
I suppose this year for the first time I too have made a Resolution. I have resolved to give myself to God not in the future but here and now.
To rely on my Creator and His son to help me through all that He asks me do in the comings days, months and years, for the rest of my life.
This is so timely Kathryn! Just yesterday I was thinking a lot about this, and I realized that I really, really blew my last New Years resolution. Like majorly... This year I will read the Bible through in a year. With God holding me accountable. (And my family, as some of them are doing it too)
The more I try, the more I realize, I am not very reliable...
God Bless, and may you fully rely on Him.
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