Resolutions

“For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.  So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:18-25 NIV)

At the start of every new year, the commercials begin appearing on television and continue heavily for the next few weeks.  “I lost 40 pounds using. . .” Fill in the blank.  Weight-Watchers, Nutri-System, Jenny Craig, and dozens of other weight-loss companies know that with a new year comes resolutions and one of the most common is to lose weight.  So they flood the airwaves and the Internet with amazing stories of people losing large amounts of weight.  Of course, there are other resolutions people commonly make, like raising the GPA, spending more time with family or friends, getting out of debt, or improving on a personality trait.  

The problem with resolutions, however, is that we most often fail in fulfilling them.  As Jesus said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:37-38) A review of long-term diet studies at UCLA revealed that two-thirds of dieters regained more weight than they had originally lost.  We have a lot of good intentions, but as Paul laments, what we don’t want to do, we do, and what we want to do, we fail to do. No wonder so many people are discouraged when they look back on their previous resolutions.  

So, what should we do?  Well, we could just give up and acknowledge our attempts at change are hopeless.  We could just give in to gluttony, to lust, to worry, to whatever keeps dragging us down.  Or we could make the one resolution that will make all the difference—to resolve to give ourselves wholly to the Lord and rely on Him to transform those things in our lives we know need to be changed.  Our flesh is weak, but He is not!

It may seem counterintuitive to stop making resolutions.  Shouldn’t I want to change, you may ask?  Of course, but we must also recognize our inability to transform ourselves in any truly significant way. Transformation is God’s business and He does it like no one else.

Today, if you truly want to change some things in your life, resolve to rely on the Lord to make the changes.  This will be the most successful resolution you ever make.     

© Jim Musser 2018