Resolved: Not to Make Any New Year’s Resolutions

Congratulations to me! I’ve succeeded in keeping the one resolution that I made at the start of 2025: I resolved not to make any other resolutions. Success!

 

Most resolutions are like ice cubes in the hot sun. They don’t last long. They’re the paving material for the roads to good intentions and wishful thinking. ‘I’m going to lose weight.’ ‘I’m going to exercise regularly.’ ‘I’m going to get out of debt.’ ‘I’m going to start reading my Bible.’ ‘I’m going to travel more this year.’ ‘I’m going to become a kinder person.’ If you’re a resolutions maker, you can probably add to that list.

 

Unfortunately, when it comes to resolutions, it’s not the thought that counts. They lack staying power, and as soon as you break a resolution that’s it. Game over. ‘I knew I couldn’t do it!’

 

Spending consistent time in the 
Scriptures is a worthwhile goal.

Does that mean we should forsake all efforts to make personal changes and strive for improvement? Not at all. But I’d suggest that instead of all-or-nothing resolutions, set goals instead. Use them as targets to aim toward. Some are reachable very quickly; others require perseverance over the long haul – a year or even longer.

For example: Instead of making a resolution to always eat right and radically change your lifestyle to become fit, set a goal. One that’s reasonable, measurable and attainable. That way, as the adage goes, if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. 

 

Years ago, a friend showed me the value of setting goals for different areas of life. Such as physical, mental, financial, relational, vocational, and spiritual. At the time my family had considerable debt, so we established a workable strategy and goals for digging ourselves out. As Proverbs 22:7 observes, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” It took time but we eventually were able to extricate ourselves from financial servitude.

 

I’ve consistently set goals for other areas of my life, but perhaps most important has been the spiritual. What kinds of goals can you set for that? Reading through the Bible in one year is one I’ve been able to achieve a number of times. If you set a resolution, “I’m going to read the Bible every day,” and miss even once you might conclude, ‘Why even try?’ However, if you set it as a goal, even if you miss a day or two you can always catch up when you have more time. There are a variety of schedules can be useful for doing that.

 

Why bother reading through the Bible? The first of the Psalms speaks about this: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked…. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2). If we don’t determine to focus on God and His Word, our minds are sure to find something else to focus on.

 

Scripture memory has proved to be another very helpful goal, seeking to memorize Bible passages that had special meaning for me. King David wrote, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word…. I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:9-11).

 

We find a similar principle in Joshua 1:8, which God spoke to Joshua as he was preparing to succeed Moses as leader of the Israelites: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” We live in a world that bombards us with messages contrary to what the Lord teaches us through the Scriptures. Memorizing and meditating on the Word of God helps us to cultivate thinking that aligns with His will for us.

 

A much broader spiritual goal might be to know the Lord better and, in the process to become more and more like Him. For this reason, years ago I adopted the first portion of Philippians 3:10 as presented in the Amplified Bible for my own purpose or mission statement. In effect, the apostle Paul was making this his life goal: “That I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly.”

 

Obviously, this isn’t something to be accomplished through a one-time resolution; it’s a lifelong goal. As Paul stated just two verses later, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12).

As we proceed into another new year, filled with uncertainties, challenges, opportunities, and unexpected twists and turns, I hope you choose to set some definitive goals – perhaps very different from mine – that will enable you to grow and flourish in becoming and doing whatever the Lord puts before you. Happy New Year!  

All the Best-Laid Plans and Goals – Tempered by Trust

Happy New Year! So, here we are in unfamiliar, uncharted territory affectionately (at least so far) called 2024. We all know what 2023 gave us, its many ups and downs, twists and turns, joys and frustrations. But what this new year will present, even the sharpest prognosticators can only guess.

 

On a “macro” sense we have little control over decisions made and actions taken globally, nationally, and even at the state and local levels. That, as they say, is “above our pay grade.” However, what we can control is the way we approach the new year, our individual “micro” strategy. 

 

Experience has taught me one of the best ways of doing this is by planning and goal-setting. Just days from now many of our new year’s resolutions will have been broken, but plans we make and goals we establish can still be earnestly pursued.

 

Goals, as I’ve said before, are far superior to resolutions in my opinion. We make resolutions with good intentions, but then we break them and poof! That’s that. Oh well, maybe next year. Goals, on the other hand, are things we can work toward all year long. 

 

Is our goal to lose weight? If we miss an exercise session or eat more than we should, there’s always tomorrow. Want to get out of debt? It can’t be done overnight, but we can whack away at that mountain of “I owe’s” and make steady progress. The important thing to remember about goals is they should be quantifiable, measurable, and attainable. Deciding you want to lose 30 pounds by next week, or get freed up from $30,000 in debt by next month is merely wishful thinking.

 

You might ask yourself questions like: Where am I going (or hoping to go)? How am I going to get there? And how will I know when I’ve arrived?

 

This also applies to the planning process. If we want to change jobs or careers; finally take that long-awaited vacation; or gain more practical understanding of the Bible, it would help to establish a timeline, identify some specific steps to take, and clarify for ourselves what we intend to do. As some old sage once said, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”

 

At the same time, one critical step in goal-setting or planning many of us often overlook is to pray about it in advance. As another wise guy has observed, “Man plans – and God laughs.” Because the Lord’s plans are always better than the ones we can come up with apart from His guidance and direction.

 

In Jeremiah 29:11, He declares, “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not for harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Through the wonderful hindsight that a lifetime of experience can provide, God typically has never consulted with me about what He intended to do in my life, but again and again I’ve discovered, “Father knows best.”

 

This doesn’t mean those who desire to follow Jesus Christ as called to sit idly on stumps and watch the Lord do all the work. In one of my favorite psalms we find this admonition from King David: “Trust in the Lord and do good… Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will do it. He will bring out your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday” (Psalm 37:3-6).

 

In the very next verse, however, we read words we don’t necessarily want to hear. It says, “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” God’s plans are perfect – as is His timing. Even if His timing doesn’t align with the timeframe we desire.

 

The book of Proverbs has much to tell us about planning and goal-setting. For instance, Proverbs 16:3 urges, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” The key is to commit our plans to the Lord – and be willing to accept His course corrections. Because as Proverbs 16:9 notes, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

 

We could cite many other passages from the Scriptures, but this one offers a good overview: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).

 

Starting this new year filled with hope and potential, I wish you happy setting of goals and formulating of plans. Committing them to the Lord and trusting in Him as you do so.

Forget the Resolutions. Let’s Establish Some Goals

Just a couple weeks ago, sports fans all around the world were glued to their TVs with a single word in their minds. World Cup soccer matches were the rage on every continent, and the commentators sat on the edge of their seats waiting for the magic moment when the ball would spin past the goalie and they could scream with full lung capacity, “Gooooooooooooal!”

 

I must confess that I didn’t watch a minute of the much-hyped World Cup competition. If you’re a fan, go ahead, hate me. Unless I’m watching one of my grandkids play what we Americans know as soccer, I’ll take American football over the global game of “futbol” any day. I did hear that the championship game was kind of messy – or was that, Messi, as in Lionel? (I’m not totally ignorant of the sport.)

 

I do share one thing with what’s commonly referred to as “the beautiful game.” I, too, am a big fan of goals, except mine come with objectives and timelines to guide me along the way. This time of year, when many folks are talking about making resolutions – translation, “Well-intended sentiments that I know there’s probably no chance I’ll keep” – I choose to make goals.

What’s the difference? A resolution is something like, “I’ll quit eating junk food,” or “I’ll never drive over the speed limit again,” or “I’m resolved to work out at least four times a week next year.” Great intentions. Noble thoughts. But by the end of the first month, if not sooner, those resolutions most likely will be shattered like a fine crystal glass meeting a hammer.

 

Goals, on the other hand, are targets we can work toward over time. They are quantifiable, measurable, and attainable. Goals serve as the answer to questions like, “Where am I going?” “How am I going to get there?” and “How will I know when I’ve arrived?” They can help to ensure we’re making the proper use of our time, talents and resources.

 

I’ve found it helpful to make categories for goals, including physical, mental, spiritual, social, vocational, financial, and avocational (hobbies). Some of my past goals have been: going to the fitness center three times a week; losing 15 pounds by mid-year; reading 20 books, including the Bible, over the course of one year; paying off a credit card balance within a certain period; having a weekly date night with my wife; memorizing a new Bible verse each week; and starting to take drum lessons.

 

Resolving to become a better husband certainly seems like a good idea, but how will I know if I’ve accomplished that? Setting a goal – or goals – to guide me in that direction is a better approach.

 

As I read the Scriptures, I find a number of worthwhile goals to strive toward, such as, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands…so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). But how do we achieve that? We can establish some reasonable goals to help us go beyond just high-minded intentions. For some, this might be as simple as getting a job and sticking with it. Maybe even finding an accountability partner or two to remind us to follow through on goals we have set.

 

My life verse, adapted from the Amplified Bible’s translation of Philippians 3:10, states, “My determined purpose is that I may know Him (the Lord), that I may progressively become more intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly.” But how do I do that? 

 

I can set goals to spend a certain amount of time each day reading and meditating on the Scriptures, along with time for prayer; participating in Bible studies and discussions with like-minded believers; attending worship services regularly; and talking with others about my faith, not only evangelistically but also in discipling or mentoring relationships. As one translation of Philemon 6 states, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” If we desire for God to entrust us with more spiritual riches, we should be faithful to use what He’s already given to us.

 

How can we know that the Lord approves of the goals we set? The Scriptures tell us this starts with ensuring our hearts are right toward Him. Psalm 37:4 declares, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” If our motives flow from our love for God, He’ll impress upon us what our desires should be.

 

Jesus referred to this in His “sermon on the mount.” Speaking to the assembled multitude, He said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:21,33).

Hope this is helpful. Now, it’s time to start establishing my own goals for the new year.