The 4 Best New Year Resolutions You Can Ever Make as a Christian in 2023.
Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
Happy new year! Hope you had a wonderful holiday and are feeling refreshed. Now that the new year is here, most of us want to see a change in our lives which explains creating new year resolutions. And this begs the question: What are the best new year resolutions that you can ever make? Would you like to know? Then read on. A few days ago, I requested a loved one who was going for shopping to get me something. And her wanting to get me exactly what I wanted asked me to be specific about the details, which I did.
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Unbeknownst to me, she went and bought the same thing for herself, too. And what she got turned out to be way better than mine and with different specifications, too. Do you know why? Because she had the entire collection in front of her, she could make the best choice for her and, in turn, it superseded mine.
As I lay in bed pondering, God impressed upon me how sometimes the things we think we want don’t end up being the best for us. And often, we can get stuck with mediocre blessings because that’s what we wanted. So this led to the question that I want to ask you too.
If God gave you everything you wanted and leave nothing out, would you be happy? And would you be content? The thing I thought I wanted turned out to be mediocre. In fact, I even mentioned to her that should there be a next time, she should get only the best and disregard my specifications if she saw something better.
What if the very thing you’ve been praying for is beneath the plan that God has for you? Could it be that God is sparing you from the pain of the disappointments from answered prayers? Think about that for a second. What if God is keeping you from the disappointment of the very thing not bringing you the fulfillment you think it should bring you?
God is our father, and that means His heart towards each one of us is full of pure intentions only. This means that if the thing you are asking for could be detrimental to you or even below your expectations, HE will deny you. This is not because He wants to punish you or does not care. It simply is His way of protecting you.
As human beings, we have a limited view, therefore, our decisions and prayers are often shortsighted. But that’s not the case with God. God sees the whole picture, therefore, will only bring pieces together that mesh with the complete picture. This means He knows what’s best for you.
Granted, I don’t always see it that way. But this specific incident opened my eyes in a way nothing else ever had. The pain of disappointment from an answered prayer can be overwhelming. And as we come to the start of a new year, I want to encourage you to reflect on the prayers you have been praying to God. And really ask yourself if God were to answer them exactly as you prayed if you would be happy. Can you imagine your answered prayer becoming a prayer item simply because you were rigid?
Take an example, the prodigal son, asked his father to give him his inheritance, and the father obliged. Things, however, took downhill the minute he left home. His wealth dwindled, and he quickly realized that he had the best thing and that was his father and the safety that came from his father shielding him.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’
20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants,[c] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
So what are some take away from both stories regarding new year resolutions?
Letting go and surrender is one of the best new year resolutions you can ever make.
If you want to experience the very best of your life, you will need to surrender the very plan you have to embrace the one that God has for you. What you gain in your own strength will be sustained in your own strength. God will often not bless something that He is not a part of. This is because when God is not a part of something, it means it is not His will for you.
And as you make your new year’s resolutions, I want to encourage you to be okay with letting go. God has a beautiful plan for your life. One you can only experience on the other side of your surrender. Surrender is not laziness. It is simply holding everything in your hand loosely and trusting that God will weed out what is not best for you to make room for the best for you.
If God doesn’t build the house, the builders only build shacks. If God doesn’t guard the city, the night watchman might as well nap. It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don’t you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves? Psalm 127:1-2 MSG
Look at Abraham’s story for a second. Abraham, because of Impatience had Ishmael out of his own strength. He got what he wanted, but it was not in the way God would have wanted for him. And because that was not God’s will for him, He asked Abraham to send his child away. And although God blessed Ishmael too, he was not a part of the covenant. Being blessed does not equate to being in covenant with God. God’s covenants are powerful and transcend generations while wealth does not. Ask yourself this, in your new year resolutions, would you rather be in covenant with God or just experience His blessing? Let God in on your new year resolutions and give Him room to move however He sees best.
Can you imagine God asking you to let go of the very thing you’ve worked so hard for? It could be a career or a business that God is asking you to give up because that’s not His will for you. Maybe after all the effort you put in your studies, God is asking you to go in a different direction. Or maybe, after getting a job after years of waiting, God is now asking you to quit.
Are you having a hard time letting go of something that you’ve had to toil so much over? Abraham had to let his son go because God asked him. He had to trust God’s plan, although it made little sense. This is the same posture God is requiring of you.
As we begin a new year, God wants you to surrender your plan and take up His plan. It will take you giving it up now for you to gain better. If you want to experience the abundantly, let go of how you think it should be and go with God’s flow. Give God room in your new year resolutions.
Obedience is one of the other new year resolutions keys you can ever have.
Before you can experience the fullness of God, you will have moments where you will have to choose obedience. Surrender is an action that goes hand in hand with obedience. Before God can entrust you with what He has for you, follow some instructions He will lay out for you. Sometimes the very thing He has given you will be tested. And it will take obedience on your side for you to see its fulfillment.
God tested Abraham with his very son, Isaac. This was when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. Abraham obeyed. So let me ask you this when God asks you to give up the very thing he gave you. Will you oblige? Are you going to lay it down? Will you trust He can resurrect it should He kill it?
Obedience will get you further than planning ever will. And it is in obedience that the fullness of your purpose is experienced. Obey and follow the leading of God. As part of your new year resolutions, will you make it a priority to obey the voice of God? Will you follow what He tells you?
Be flexible.
Planning is not always a bad thing. Having a desire is equally good. But you should be flexible enough to allow God to change your plans if He needed to. After all, you and I can’t see the big picture and we should be okay when He detours us. What you want could be the best based on your limited understanding. This, however, doesn’t mean that it’s the best there is for you.
God says that His ways are higher than ours. I hope you believe it. Also, when He says that He will do exceedingly, abundantly, above all you could ever ask or think of, HE means it. And most times before He can do the exceedingly, He rearranges our plans so that His plans can come forth.
Let me ask you this: have you had prayers go unanswered that now looking back you are grateful for? It is okay to admit that you were wrong, and it’s okay to admit that you are glad God did not answer some prayers. Having that track record in your mind, it is only fair that you allow God to change your plans as He sees fit.
It might look messy at the moment, but I promise you it will all make sense in the future.
Who would have known that Joseph being sold as a slave to Egypt was for the preservation of the Israelites? At the time, it made little sense, but when he became second in command, it all made sense.
And this is what will happen to you, too. When you get to the place God has destined for you, it will all make sense. So right now, hold on and trust when God detours you and know that you will get to the place He has for you. And it will be greater than anything you could have ever imagined. Make flexibility a part of the new year resolutions.
Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you. Ephesians 3:20 TPT
Trust
This journey will require you to trust that God is good and that His plans for you are good. For you to fully surrender when God disrupts your plan, you will need to trust Him. Abraham trusted God would resurrect his son if need be. He fully trusted in God and that’s why He could fully walk in the fullness of God.
God is asking you to trust Him today. Trust Him even when it makes little sense. Because when you do, you will get to experience everything He ever had for you. And it will be nothing like anyone has ever seen. That’s why He says that the eye has not seen or ears heard what He has in store for those who love Him.
As long as God is on the throne He has it all planned out. He planned your life and ordained your steps even before you came to be. So trust Him and follow His leading. He has you in the palm of His hands because He loves you so much. As long as you are a Christian, trust should be a part of the new year resolutions.
This is why the Scriptures say: Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine— these are the many things God has in store for all his lovers. 1 Corinthians 2:9 TPT
Conclusion.
New year resolutions are great but giving God the reins in your life is a much better plan. Often it takes God disrupting our plans to make room for His plans. The good thing is that His plans will always be better than ours and when we trust Him He will never let us down. Your life might not look like you envisioned it, but one thing you can be sure of is that it will be better than anything you ever imagined. It is okay to plan, but be flexible enough to move with God’s flow should God decide to disrupt it.
As we begin this new year, I want to challenge us to give room for God to disrupt our plans as He sees fit. And when it happens, let us trust He knows what He is doing because He can see the bigger picture. After all, He knows the end from the beginning and He knows what’s best for us.
Happy new year! And may the goodness of God follow you always! Remember to make room for God as you make your new year resolutions.
Make room for the new in your new year resolutions
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Radiantly Resurging
Mercy is the author and founder of radiantly resurging. She is a Christian and having gone through the wilderness season, she decided to impart the knowledge learned to help others navigate their wilderness season too
