Why Your New Year’s Resolution Won’t Work

 The Kingdom of God does not need your resolution! 
   
    New Year’s resolutions are becoming a thing of the past. “New Year, New You!” slogans were created to motivate people to join a gym and boost the bottom line of businesses, whose only motivation was to capitalise on people’s self-rejection and insecurities. It’s not 2005 anymore…or even 2022!

    Welcome to 2023: God, the Church, even your family doesn’t need anymore insecure, self-centred resolutions. The Kingdom of God doesn’t need good intentions.  It needs people who are transformational and revolutionary. If you want to be relevant, purposeful, useful, and powerful in 2023 then drop your “New Year’s Resolutions.”

  

A 91% fail rate
    I get it, you don’t want to stay the way you are right now forever. You recognise weaknesses, have new goals, or maybe are bored with the status quo. But change is hard. Even well-intentioned change. Most people lose momentum before the change becomes permanent. According to this website, only 9% of people achieve their resolution. Those aren’t world-changing statistics! 

    For most, the desire to change is rooted in rejection (from self or others), insecurity, and/or pride. Be honest with yourself. If you really evaluated the reason behind the last personal resolution you made (eat less, read more, pray more, give up social media, etc), it was because you wanted to be “better” (slimmer, smarter, richer, prettier, etc) than you are right now. 

    Resolving in your mind to do something limits you to the power of your will. Resolutions come from your own strength, are based on your previous failures, and result in your own glory (or lack there-of).

Resolutions are OUT, Transformation is IN!
    I am going to simplify this down to one simple, essential key to lasting change: a transformed mind. Transformation is really what you’re looking for. I said it was simple, I didn’t say it was easy!
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      Get a new mirror!
    The world has conditioned us to see ourselves through what we are not. Not slim enough, fast enough, smart enough; not good enough mom, wife, housekeeper, student, employee…you name it! We look at ourselves through what we are not in order to motivate ourselves to become what we think we should be. But where does the standard end? When do we find rest or peace in this pursuit of perfection? But the Kingdom of God doesn’t work in negatives, it works in positives. God doesn’t see what you lack, he sees what you already are. 

Know who you are, forget who you are not!
    As a son or daughter of God you possess every spiritual blessing, spiritual gifts, and the nature of Christ. You lack nothing. This is where that all-important key comes in for your lasting transformation: renew your mind about who you are, leaving behind who you are not.             
Pay attention to the words used in scripture to describe you (italics added):
    
    “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:9-10

    “…put on the new man which was ​created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:24

    “ …since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him…” Colossians 3:9-10

“…as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:3-4

    Do you see it? It’s already been done! You have been made new already! It was the work of Christ on the cross that did all the work to make you everything you need to be. And do you know what else it makes you? Loved, accepted, adored, beautiful, and worthy. It’s not your works in this new year that will be make you more loved, more beautiful, or more significant. It is the work that He has already done. You must only meet one condition: to be in Christ. No other conditions apply to attain being made new, perfect, and lovely. 

“You are altogether lovely…”                              (Song Of Solomon 4:7)

    Do you know that when the Father looks at you he sees the perfection of Christ already in you? Do not make this new year about becoming something different, how can you improve on what Christ has already done? Take the time to realise who you are and live in accordance with it. You don’t have to live from a place of trying to earn acceptance or significance through doing good works, you do the good works because of your acceptance and significance in Christ already.

Steps for Success in 2023
    A renewed mind comes through the Word of God; both logos and rhema words.
“And not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2

    Step 1: Take the old thoughts captive. You must search out with Holy Spirit to find the thoughts you have about yourself that the Father does not have about you. You cannot afford to think anything about yourself that He hasn’t first thought about you. This will be a life-long process, but He is so faithful, he will continue to reveal and work this out as you submit to him and meet with him in the secret place. 

    Step 2: Replace the thoughts (lies) with Truth.
“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;” Psalm 139:17-18
    Here David is saying that the Father’s thoughts toward him cannot be counted they are so vast, but they are a treasure to be prized and cherished. Do you know what his thoughts towards you are? Spend time with Him and ask Him; read the Word and let it wash over you.
        
    Step 3: Radiate the Glory of God. As you begin to renew the thoughts you have about yourself, the old man gets put to rest, and what comes to the surface is the reflection of the glory and image of Christ (see Romans 8:29). We are to live from this identity, not into it by trying to attain it through good or right works. You are the expected manifestation of the glory of God (sit on that for a while! Colossians 1:27). A son or daughter living from true identity will change the world. The lost, hurting, and sick of this world are waiting for an encounter with Jesus through you. This will bring more change to the world than any resolution ever can. 

Happy Transformational Year!
    So this year live from the perspective of you who are, not who you are not. Spend more time in the secret place with the Lord because you are a son or daughter, not to become one. Better your physical health because you already are the temple of the Holy Spirit, you don’t have to make yourself worthy of it. Pursue the passions the Lord has given you because he has already favoured you to be successful, you don’t have to earn it. God has already secured your finances, you can live from financial peace, not for it. 
    May this new year be the year that you live from your new self, already perfected in Christ. Let the striving for perfection end, and the confidence of your acceptance, power, and authority in Christ begin.