Resolving to Make This Our Best Year Yet
American essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”
As we stand at the beginning of a brand-new year, it’s easy to want to swallow whole that type of can-do spirit. We will decide, or dare I say resolve, to make this our best year yet. Apparently, we think because the clock turned from 11:59 p.m. to 12 midnight, we will suddenly become better versions of ourselves.
More committed to weight loss and health
Achieving greater focus on learning or our avocations
Embracing a new dedication to work hard and be our best selves as our day jobs.
“This will be the year,” we whisper to our hearts, preparing to reach down and pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps.
And then one dark and cold January day turns into another darker and colder day. We oversleep and miss our promised morning workout. We order pizza because it’s easier than whipping up a healthy lunch. We decide to veg out on TV rather than write or read or do watercolors.
Before long, our shiny new year is tarnished with greasy fingerprints, and our best attempts to clean it up again lead to streaks and smears we just can’t remove.
And we find ourselves discouraged, disappointed again that we’ve let ourselves down. Might as well give up and try again next week or next month or, hey, isn’t 2024 soon enough? Or maybe we decide to throw in the towel entirely, to accept that “this is the way I am” or “I always let myself and others down.”
Pretty soon, we can become a stressed out, frazzled version of ourselves who is disheartened with life and deeply dissatisfied with all sorts of things we do. Even our perfect new planners aren’t enough to carry us through to victory in this year. We get kicked out of our best plans and wind up a tear- and frustration-filled heap.
Does any tiny part of this vicious cycle sound familiar?
It does for me.
I’m an over-achiever who sets goals, and then when I get close to reaching one of them, I move the finish line further away. I should’ve done more, been better, not slipped or stumbled or gotten tired so quickly. The judgments pour in, and I want to scream into the night wind that I’m so very tired. But, you know, shouldn’t I be asleep anyway? If I had things together, I’d be asleep already.
And on and on and on.
I have good news. This does not have to be our story in 2023. It’s not about finding the right energy drink or the perfect combination of vitamins or reading the best books. It’s about taking the next important step on our journey toward rest.
In our last time together, we looked at the concept captured by the letter R: Recognizing our need for God and realizing He is inviting us into Relationship with Him.
That brings us to the letter E and the lesson it teaches us to
Evaluate
our circumstances by the
Eternal
In this new year, we can listen to ancient wisdom captured by The Teacher in Ecclesiastes as we develop an above-the-sun perspective. When we view our lives from God’s point of view, we can take hope that this life, and the goals we set in hopes of just killing it, are not all we have. God invites us to turn our focus from the pressures that bind us so that we can look toward Him. We are welcome to step into this relationship with Him through faith in Jesus.
He wants to take our striving and anxiety and give us rest and peace instead. And not crash-on-the-couch-and-shut-our-minds-down rest but deep, abiding rest and peace that is simply beyond understanding.
It’s the rest and peace that leads my friends in Ukraine to praise God and lead others in worship even as bombs rain down on their beloved land.
It’s the peace assuring that God is with us in operating rooms and chemo treatment bays.
It’s the assurance that we are seen and loved and ultimately protected regardless of the hurt and fear we may be experiencing in the moment.
Listen to these words the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi while he was in prison in Rome:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:4-8)
Remember, Paul’s not offering self-help, and neither am I.
In fact, I firmly believe we cannot help ourselves. That’s the reason why it was so important for Christ to come to earth as the baby of Christmas and to live a perfect life, die a sacrificial death as payment for our sins, and rise again to defeat sin and death.
When we put our faith in Christ and turn and trust Him to be our Savior and Lord, He gives us peace, joy, and victory to carry us through whatever may come.
So, this year, I encourage you to follow Paul’s advice.
Rather than overplanning, choose rejoicing.
Rather than resolutions, choose reasonableness.
Trade anxiety for thanksgiving and dependence on God.
Turn away from worries and woes and think on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. And that will point your heart to the One who is Faithful and True and who is, indeed, worthy of all our praise, and that is Jesus.
I shared on my personal social media that my prayer for 2023 comes from a song by Zach Williams: “Lord, let me be a little more like Jesus, a little less like me.” I’m including a link to the song on YouTube. Check it out if you have a few minutes. I also hope you’ll let me know what you’re trusting God for in this new year.
Send me an email or comment below. I’d love to know how I can be praying for you.
For now, I wish you the happiest of new years as we walk closer with Jesus and learn to look more like Him every day.
