January 9
“I will set no worthless thing before my eyes…” Psalm 101:3
I said earlier that I do not make resolutions because I know my own weaknesses and inability to keep them. But that does not mean I don’t have goals and new habits that I want to establish or that I am not working hard on change. I just think that a better approach for me is to think through what I want to accomplish, including sins that I want to overcome and new habits that I want to establish, and then write these down and take them to the Lord in prayer on a regular, preferably daily basis.
Once I came to the conclusion in my mind that I can’t change on my own and that God has to do it if it is going to get done, I could petition God in prayer and trust Him to bring it about. I can work hard at the goal by diligent prayer and obedience, but I don’t have to get all worked up and obsessed about it. I can relax and see what He will do. But I can’t slack off either. I am not talking about praying once or twice for something and forgetting about it. I am talking about daily coming to Him with my requests and diligently praying about the change or victory or godly habit that I am seeking. And I have come to the conclusion that for the truly important things that I have to have, especially His holiness and victory over sin, I must cry out to Him with urgency. Then I receive His special enablement to gain the victory.
It is essential, I think, to have a clear direction of where you want to go and how you want to change and what sinful habits you want to overcome. We all should have a list of these things we want to see happen. But I am convinced that the real change happens when we are on our knees before God and then are obedient to His word and leading. We need clear and godly goals that we write down and keep in front of us and pray about diligently if we are to see lasting change and overcome nagging sins in our lives. So let us resolve that we will make goals, especially those pertaining to godliness and overcoming temptation, take them in prayer to the Lord every day, and take diligent action by His enabling strength when He begins to answer those prayers.