I Have the Same Resolution as Last Year

It's New Year!  2018!  A new year with new goals and hopes and dreams and adventures.
Or so I thought.  As the clock ticked past twelve and a new year opened its eyes, I stared up into the sky at a moon nearly full.  Its light illuminated the midnight sky and came down to rest upon me, just another pair of eyes gazing up.  There with a full heart, I thanked God for the new beginnings.  The past was gone, and a horizon opened before me.
I thought of the future.  What could I achieve in 365 days?  Where would I go, and what would I do?  What goals could I set?
But today I realized the truth.  I have the same New Year's resolution as last year.

photos credit: Pexels





















God gave me two words to focus on last year.  I dug into them.  I spent time laboring to understand their real meaning and how to apply their truth.
And yet now, at the beginning of another day, I'm still wondering what they're all about.
Abide
I want to discover what it means to abide in Christ.  I want to know God on a personal level and feel His breath in every aspect of my life.  The verse that stood out to me was from Jeremiah.

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

- Jeremiah 29:13

That's the answer!  All I would have to do was search for God with all my heart!
As life continued, I realized how hard it was.  All is a big word.  It means everything.  How does one dedicate every part of his life to one goal?
But that's what I want - to know Jesus as a best Friend and truly find Him.
Love
The next step happened when I discovered the truth of Deuteronomy 6:5.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

- Deuteronomy 6:5

Another answer!  If I wanted to discover God, I just had to love Him with all.  But there was the word again.  All.
I dove into both topics.  I tried to apply them in my own life and discover how to abide and love God completely.  That was the focus of my year.
What about 2018?  What new goals could I choose and reach for?
When I began to get ambitious, God gently turned me around.  It was as if He pointed at the last year and smiled.
All that thought and discussion and time was good.  But it's not over yet.
That is the worthiest resolution of all: to know and love our Savior more.  That's why I don't have a new goal.  Abiding in Christ might never be accomplished in my lifetime, but I want it.  Surrendering every aspect of life to Him and loving Him with my whole heart is hard.  Yet nothing is impossible with God.
The year rolled around, and I'm back to where I started.  I wonder if anything changed.  Do I abide a little more than I did last year?  Do I love more?
It's an endless journey.  But doesn't that make the adventure that much more exciting?
I want to live a life worth living.  A life focused on Jesus.  That's the only one that will matter.
I'll still make goals, but they're smaller goals to keep me on the right track.  My ultimate resolution is still Jesus, and I pray that He will be my goal for the rest of my life.
I can almost hear the Narnian voices urging us on.

Come further up, come further in!

-  C.S. Lewis The Last Battle 

Let's never give up until we have reached the end and attained the prize.





















(ps)  If you're like me and you're wondering how much you've grown in Christ this last year, I have a challenge for you:  Ask a family member.
I know, I know!  This is terrifying.  But if we aren't honest and open about this, how will we ever know if we're pressing on towards Jesus?  So ask.  Just a simple, "have you seen fruit in my life that I'm pressing on towards Jesus?"  Present the question and accept their answer.  We need to be growing in our relationships with God and others, and what a good way to initiate a deep, God-focused conversation with a family member!

Be brave.  And do it.~♥~