In the sermon tonight, we looked at people’s fondness for making New Year’s resolutions, some of which may well be:

  1. Lose weight
  2. Get fit
  3. Learn something new
  4. Eat more healthily
  5. Spend more time with my family
  6. Travel to new places
  7. Be less stressed
  8. Drink less alcohol
  9. Give more to charity
  10. Spend more time reading the Bible and praying

Most of us know, however, that despite our good resolutions, we are often unable to keep them past the first few days of January. Reasons for this are varied, but some of the obstacles to fulfilling our resolutions are:

  1. Having unrealistic expectations. Sometimes we set ourselves up for failure by having unrealistic resolutions (such as losing 3 stones in weight in one month alone!)
  2. Unrealistic timeframes. We often feel we must do things instantly or feel that a lack of time prevents us from achieving new goals. We have to learn to ‘number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom’ (Ps 90:12), making the most of every opportunity, redeeming the time (Eph 5:16). Prioritising time is important; we have to make time for God, for prayer, for reading the Bible and for service.
  3. Unwillingness to really change. Only when we are determined and disciplined about change will it come about. Reading the Bible requires effort, commitment and perseverance. There are parts of it that are hard to read and understand. Some parts are not as exciting as others! But if all Scripture truly is God-breathed and useful for us, then we have to be willing to engage with it, whether we feel like it or not. Calvin & Hobbes
  4. Businesses talk about setting ‘SMART’ goals. ‘S’ stands for ‘specific’ and ‘M’ stands for ‘measurable.’ So often, we fail because we are vague about what we are hoping to achieve. We have to be specific about what we are trying to achieve and specific in prayer. (Phil 3:12, Rom 9:26-27)
  5. Many of us fail in our resolutions because we are half-hearted and apathetic. God does not want us to be lukewarm in faith, but to be full of spiritual fervour, never lacking in zeal (Rom 12:11), passionate about this race we are running. (Rom 9:27, Heb 12:1-3).

If we are going to set realistic goals for the New Year and achieve these, we need to be smart – setting specific, measurable, achievable, realistic goals with a time-frame that is sensible. Making no goals or having no direction for the New Year means we’ll never reach our destination, because we have none! We need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but must also realise that without God, we can do nothing. We have to remain in the vine and allow God’s fruit to grow from that personal relationship with God, being willing to change as He leads us ‘onward and upward’.