In the beginning of the year, many of us would make a pledge, which is usually called New Year Resolution, for the sake of improving ourselves from previous year. We may pledge to live a healthier life style than last year, to surf less in the Internet, or to study the whole Bible in a year, etc. All in all, we have the good intention to finish it but before long, we find ourselves slip occasionally, and then become frequently, and finally all the time.  How can we keep our promise, sticking to our New Year resolution, is a good question to ponder.

I once heard an interesting comment from a pastor in a radio broadcast, he commented, “I have never set physical exercise as my New Year resolution. Because, what is the point to have such a resolution that I know I can’t keep it? I think the pastor has a good point – don’t make a promise to yourself that you know you will break it down the road. Implicitly, he points out that we all have our own weakness in flesh. Personally, I think there are two aspects in order to carry out a resolution successfully. One is to know who you truly are and the other is to learn how to persevere on what you have set for. To know who we truly are would give us a right perspective to set our goal correctly. And to achieve our goal successfully, it is imperative to persevere through all the temptations and difficulties that we face without giving up.

In this world, we may have four different roles – the one who we think we are, the one who others think we are, the one who we think the others think we are, and the one who we truly are. Do you know who we truly are? Apostle Paul told us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). This is the reason Apostle Paul later sighed, “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out”.  Realize the fact that we are all sinners leads to the need of seeking deliverance. When we choose to accept Jesus Christ, the deliverer, as our savior, we become the followers of Jesus Christ – Christians.

Someone once said, “A costume is something you put on and pretend that you are what you are wearing. A uniform, on the other hand, reminds you that you are, in fact, what you wear.”  A Christian is, therefore, the one who wears a uniform that is given by Jesus and the uniform should remind us of what we are currently. We are not to pretend to be what we aren’t but to become more and more what we are in Christ. Once we realize this aspect, it should be clear to us that our New Year resolution is to be set for living a life that is pleasing to our Lord.

After the resolution is set correctly, our next step is to carry it out. Charles H. Spurgeon once said, “By perseverance, the snail reached the Ark”.  It tells us that we can achieve our goal as long as we are persistent and persevering through all the difficulties by setting our priority appropriately! If we think God is the most important person in our life, then we should have Him as our first priority over any other things. There may be many obstacles lie in front of our path to our resolution; we just need to have faith and perseverance because our Lord is faithful. As we possess this understanding and keep this view persistently, we can execute our resolution successfully.

My dear brothers and sisters, in this brand new year, may you have a good New Year resolution and may you keep your promise by persevering through it.

Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.