Resolute Resolutions

So yesterday night, roughly half and hour before new years, I penned my new years resolutions. Here is what they were:

+To be characterized by my love and therefore as a follower of Christ

+To give with reckless abandon

+To leave behind complacency

+To fearlessly and unapologetically proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who the Lord has purposefully surrounded me with

Now, these seemed like pretty good resolutions to me and I remember thinking "Yeah, these are good. But what are the chances that I will actually keep them?" After all, I'm pretty sure that last years resolutions didn't actually make it past the resolutions stage (In fact, to be completely honest, I dont even remember the resolutions that I made last year). But isn't that how it goes? We decide that this year we will excercise more, read a book every month, learn a new instrument, read our bibles everyday, etc...good resolutions. But not too far down the road, we tend to forget or neglect these things that we decided to do. We take the first opportunity that we can to make an excuse for why we can't do something. I almost hesitated to make resolutions this year because of how unfaithful I've been in the past to going through with them.

But tonight, sitting in my bed, it occurred to me something that Jesus said: With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. What are the key words here? With God. I think that so many times we try to make things happen in and of ourselves, which, usually is unsuccessful. I tried(and failed) to remember the last time that I actually prayed about my resolutions, asking God whether they were even in line with His will, and begging Him to help me achieve them. So this is going to be my chief resolution above all other resolutions: To ask God who gives wisdom liberally and without reproach, to grant me the wisdom to do these things that I long to do, as long as they are in line with His will.