2023 RESOLUTION: Renewal & Purpose in Jesus

I used to roll my eyes at New Year’s resolutions. They seemed so superficial and disproportionately focused on physical fitness.

On January 1st, articles and social media posts announcing resolution plans, lists, and spreadsheets abound. Okay, the spreadsheet part is just me. It’s easy to make elaborate plans the first day of the new year. But January 2nd is coming…

Of course, an alternative to making New Year’s resolutions is to make no plan for growth whatsoever.

A Longing for Eternity

When I remove my cynical, self-righteous lenses, it seems clear to me now that New Year’s Resolutions are really indicators of a deep spiritual longing. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God “placed eternity in the human heart.” We were created with a desire that can only be satisfied with the eternal.

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

New Year’s resolutions are a welcome reprieve from the hurried, aimless, and anxious life offered by the world. They are a cultural cry for a reset, clean slate, and fresh start. “New Year, New Me,” has become a popular mantra around the changing of the calendar. As a society, we approach the New Year as an opportunity to leave behind the previous year’s failures and flaws behind and set out in a new direction.

We long for forgiveness and renewal.

Resolutions are also intentional acts of vision. We set physical, emotional, relational, or financial goals at the beginning of the year and seek to chart a course towards those goals.

We long for wholeness and purpose.

Jesus Offers Renewal and Purpose

The Bible teaches that humanity’s thirst for a fresh start can only be satisfied by Jesus.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

2 Corinthians 5:17

All of our self-improvement efforts cannot satisfy the longing for eternity lodged deep within us. The good news is that God made a way for humanity to dwell in the eternal presence of God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.”

1 Peter 3:18

Jesus offers you unqualified and unreserved forgiveness for all of your sins and shame. Come to Him by faith and receive the forgiveness and renewal only He can give.

Jesus also offers wholeness and purpose. The way of Jesus is the way of life.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore,”

Psalm 16:11

GOING DEEPER

Invite Jesus into your New Year’s resolutions. Where do you need renewal? Where do you need vision?

REMEMBER

Set aside time at the beginning of this year to reflect on all the good God has done. Thank Him for the moments of beauty, joy, and goodness. Share one of those moments with a trusted friend or family member.

FORGIVE

Spend time giving all of the loss, suffering, and failure of the previous year to God—by faith believing that He will not only forgive but completely restore you. Ask God by the power of the Holy Spirit to give you grace to let go of any bitterness or unforgiveness.

RENEW VISION

“…one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus…”

Philippians 3:13-14

What are you aiming at in 2023? Do you have a vision (however simple or small) for your spiritual, emotional, relational, physical, and financial health? Remember, if you aim at nothing—you’ll probably hit nothing.

• In prayer and perhaps with a trusted friend, write down simple goals to move you towards wholeness in the five categories above. I’ve found the more specific the better. For me, “I want to intentionally strengthen my relationship with my brother, Kevin” is a better goal than “I want to be more loving.”  Write down the resolution.

• Next, ask a simple question. What is one thing I could do—that I would do—that would move me closer to relational health with my brother. Write down what comes to mind trusting God is speaking.

• Ask the Holy Spirit to give you perseverance and grace to pursue these goals. Intentionality is half the battle. Don’t allow perfection to be the enemy of good. Take goals one step at a time.

Take your everyday, ordinary life and give it to God. He is trustworthy, and you’ll find renewal, wholeness, and purpose in Him.