New Year's Resolutions

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33

My mind is resting on thoughts of the coming New Year, 2010. I wonder what sort of frivolous resolutions people will vow to keep (like losing 20 #'s, giving up smoking or gossiping so much) only to know that two days later their vows will have been broken by lack of self discipline and will. I'm guilty too. So, I usually choose not to make New Year's resolutions at all. Oh, there are plenty of things that I need or want to see improved in me but, I know I can't improve just by simply willing the changes into being.

It has to be a posture of the heart first and foremost. I have to ask myself, "Do I really want to change?" If I do, then what am I waiting for? Does one more day, one New Year really make a difference? If I wait, am I just hanging onto the poor choices, bad habits, old ways for myself like a toddler who's reluctant to give up her blanky or binky on their own? We all know it’s impossible for a toddler to give up something without strong persuasion or parental nudging. If it makes us feel good, we want to hang onto it! It’s our comfort.

But Jesus doesn’t call us into comfortable situations. Discipline and repentance are not easy. Change isn’t usually without pain and discomfort. The feeling of loss, disappointment usually overwhelms us so that in a few days, weeks, months we find ourselves cuddled up in the comfort of our blanky sucking on our binky.

So, what are we to do if hollow resolutions don’t motivate us to change? We need to consider WHO we want to follow and WHEN we want to follow. In Matthew, Jesus calls his disciples and asks them to drop everything NOW in order to follow him. The changes those hard-core, out-to-sea, “Deadliest Catch type of characters needed to make would come as long as they sought after Jesus FIRST…NOW.

So, I'll begin TODAY (not December 31^st or January 1^st) by throwing my hands up toward heaven and say, "I give up!" I give up trying to control the outcome of every situation. I give up worrying about the past and wondering about the future. I give it all up and say, "It's all yours, Lord! NOW! I’ll follow you TODAY and leave the changes all up to you!" Not just for the New Year but every moment of every day.

God Bless and Happy New You!

Dawn