New Year’s Day is coming up soon. As the end of the last year is upon us and the dawn of a new one is filled with promises, many people will put together a list of New Year’s resolutions. It may be one or it may be more but it will list those things that an individual would like to accomplish in the next twelve months.
I don’t do such a list. I may have tried once or twice, when I was younger, but today I find that creating such a list is an invitation for defeat. There’s something about making these types of goals or promises that causes us to break down and not do the work that is needed to get them done.
Sometimes, that is a shame, because the things we want to do are things that we should do. Many times, though, this type of list is a listing of things that we want regardless of whether they are things that God wants for us.
I’ve found that just making shorter term plans of things that I will actually do is a much better thing for me. As I go along, I ask for God’s guidance. At least, I do so these days. Before, I would just keep going until I accomplished what I set out to do.
If I ran into hurdles, I’d just double my efforts and power my way through. I wasn’t going to let problems stop or hinder me. Most often, the hurdles were God’s way of trying to change the path that I was on. It’s only in recent years that I have come to understand this. Before, I never thought to ask God if what I was doing was good or right for me.
God will allow us to make mistakes. Small mistakes or even huge ones. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love us. He does but, at the same time, he has given us free will. Free will means that we are made to make our own decisions. Whether those decisions are right or wrong, good or evil, or simply things that are a waste of one of the most precious resources we have. That is our time.
Our time on this Earth is limited. Sometimes, it feels as if life is dragging and a day takes forever. Other times, it feels like time is flying by and as each year passes by, it feels like it is going faster and faster.
With the time we have been given, we should be doing things that really matter. Things that will help others and, at the same time, help build up our own faith. Finding out what those things are is more difficult.
We have to put aside the thoughts that we have and, instead, look to God and ask him to give us the task he wants us to do.
It’s very easy to justify what we want by bending the messages of the Bible to support what we do. It doesn’t mean that it is true, though. It means that we can be very creative when it comes to doing what we want.
We might be fooling ourselves but we will never fool God. He knows what we are doing and it brings him sorrow to see us working so hard against his wishes.
We need to think and then think some more. After that, think again. Question the resolutions, goals, or plans that you are considering before you commit to them. Pray continually and God will let you know what he feels about them.
However, do not think that hearing nothing means a green light. Often, we will say, we have not heard from God. When, in reality, we have but we haven’t heard what we wanted to hear.
God has plans for us. He created us for a special purpose. He put us at this time and at this place to do something that no one else can do. It put us here to tell our unique story. If you are not looking to find his will, you may miss your opportunity. If that happens, then there is something missing from this world that could have been so very special.
Look to God when it comes to making your plans for the future. Check with him daily to see if you are still on track with what he wants for you. He is waiting and wants to hear from each of us. He will never turn aside or ignore you. Just be sure to listen to his answer even if it is not what you want to hear.
Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”