Let us help you with your New Year’s resolution!
When it comes to being healthy, WebMD, the popular site for health information, says that we really ought to give all our New Year’s resolutions a rest and, instead, set more realistic goals that are not limited to a “once-a-year, do-or-die, all-out assault on that Everest of debt, those flabby thighs, or the hideous wallpaper you keep meaning to replace….'” If we do, the blog continues, “we may actually find that the finish line isn’t so far away after all.”
What finish line are you after?
According to USA.gov, the nation’s official Web portal, Americans commonly resolve every January to:
- Lose weight
- Manage debt/save money
- Get a better job
- Get fit
- Eat right
- Get a better education
- Drink less alcohol
- Quit smoking
- Reduce stress overall and/or at work
- Take a trip
- Volunteer to help others
The website doesn’t cite the sources for these popular New Year’s resolutions, nor do they offer statistics on how often they are broken. But as the poet Robert Burns, author of “Auld Lang Syne,” famously observed, “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men [often go awry].”
Were any of these on your list as you thought ahead to 2017?
Were they on your list last year as you embarked on 2016? Or can you even remember?!
Statistics say that most people can’t even remember their resolutions from even the most recent year!
Paul’s finish line
Long before the good wisdom of the health professionals of WebMD, the apostle Paul had a resolve that was much, much more than a once-a-year-wish, and forgetting his passion just wasn’t part of his modus operandi. Consider his last meeting with the church elders in Ephesus. Although he didn’t know precisely what was ahead for him, he knew he wouldn’t be seeing his friends there again, so he makes sure they absolutely know about the finish line :
I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. (Acts 20:22-24)
Did this make your list for 2017?
Do you want your life to be about finishing the work assigned to you by the Lord? Like Paul, are you passionate about telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful grace?
YOU are a commissioned disciple-maker just like him! And most likely keeping your resolve has less to do with your desire than it does with how comfortable you feel with your level of preparedness.
We can help!
So take our free assessment. It will give you insights into your strengths and help identify growth areas that you can focus on throughout this new year as you—like Paul—resolve to finish your work assigned to you by the Lord Jesus!