Have you ever had a problem keeping new year’s resolutions? If not you’re in denial – all of us have made new year’s resolutions and have broken them. Here are the most popular resolutions people make:

1. Lose weight
2. Stop a bad habit
3. Keep to a budget

Why are these so difficult? They are difficult because you need to create a new habit (see my post The Power of Habit for helpful keys for establishing new habits). Breaking one habit and starting a new habit requires willpower and your willpower is not going to dramatically improve because the date on the calendar has changed. W. Somerset Maugham writes, “The unfortunate thing about this world is that good habits are so much easier to give up than bad ones.” So what are some new year’s resolutions you can keep?

1. Gain weight
2. Watch more TV, surf the internet
3. Spend more money

These resolutions are easy to keep! Why – because they don’t require any change in our natural predilections. Making changes in our lives requires discipline. Telling an undisciplined person to become more disciplined is like telling a broke person to get more money. Samuel Johnson wisely points out, “The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”  Change starts with the realization that in my own strength I can’t, but with God’s strength I can. When you realize your inability then you go to God to find the discipline and power to do what you are unable to do. The Apostle Paul realized this truth,

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

This is not passivity but rather yielding yourself to God as you partner with Him as His strength flows through you. This is the picture of the skillful swimmer who is not fighting against the water but gliding through the water with a relaxed yet powerful stroke. As you submit yourself to God then His grace and power can flow through your life.

So how do we bring about change in our lives? Here are three questions to help you achieve your resolutions:

1. What do I want? Do you have a clear vision of what you sense God wants you to achieve this coming year. “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” (Proverbs 23:7a).  When you realize that Jesus promises you a life of joy and peace why would you want anything different? Your destiny starts with a clear vision in your mind,

Sow a thought reap an act,
sow an act reap a habit,
sow a habit,
reap a character,
sow a character,
reap a destiny.

2. What will it take to get there? This is the issue of strategy – how will I achieve my vision? “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28).

3. Am I willing to pay the price?  How badly do you want to change? This addresses the topic of desire. See how the Psalmist longed for God, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.” (Psalm 42:1)

You must realize that at first we make our habits and then our habits make us. Take some time and listen to God about the changes that He wants you to make this upcoming year. Your habits may be either the best of servants or the worst of masters.

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Chu,rch at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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