No More Resolutions
by Judy Fussell
Monday, January 16, 2017
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
As the curtains are drawn on the old year and the spotlight shines onto the stage of a brand new beginning, many of us use the New Year as a time of reflection. If you are like me, you may have volumes filled with resolutions from years past. Most of mine were made with the best intentions, but were soon abandoned when my plans didn’t necessarily line up with what life brought my way! Also, I’ve learned over the years that I can be my own worst enemy. I am weak, flawed, and easily discouraged.
This year, I have a fresh perspective. There will be no resolutions from this girl! Instead, I will release myself from self-imposed expectations that overwhelm. I’m fed up with trying to control the outcome and detail of every little aspect of my days.
Our culture screams at us constantly with proven methods to make more money or how to have the body, face and fashion of a movie star. We are bombarded with ads that lure us to exotic places making us believe this will satisfy. We also have TV and magazines selling us on the latest gadgets and trends promoted as must haves. In all these pursuits, SELF is supposedly the benefactor.
Pursuit is defined as: an effort to secure or attain; quest. Whether we are aware or not we are constantly in pursuit of something. What we consciously or unconsciously pursue has daily as well as eternal consequences.
So why do I burden myself with worldly expectations? As long as I am an actor here in this drama called life, I’ll face a tension between my way and God’s. What the world says I want is not really what I need.
This year, instead of making endless resolutions to fix what is wrong with me, I intend to intentionally pursue “The One” who holds my life’s script in His hands and has already done for me what I could not do for myself. I want to know Him and His ways that I might desire more of Him and less of me. I want my steps to be directed and my path made straight because I trust fully in Him.
● Can you truly trust one you do not know? God has revealed Himself to us through His word. Meet Him there. Meditate on His words. He will meet with you where you are. “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6 (NIV)
● What voices hold you in their sway? “Give ear and come to me; hear me that your soul may live.” >Isaiah 55:3 (NIV)
● What thoughts determine your actions? “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither your ways, my ways,’ declares the Lord.” >Isaiah 55:8 NIV
● Who are you talking to? “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth” Psalm 145:18 NIV
Father, give us the hunger to intentionally seek You and Your ways. Wisdom is an elusive jewel discovered and revealed by You to those who seek. To know You is to trust and love You more. Let us learn to submit to You, the creator and director of abundant life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
© 2017 by Judy Fussell. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Monday, 16 January 2017.
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