What are your New Year’s Resolutions?
As I thought about this, Yoda’s famous quote, “Do or do not. There is no try,” comes to mind. It perfectly encapsulates American culture.
We’re pragmatic doers. We like to set and meet goals.
Perhaps you can relate!
Because - of course - setting goals isn’t just an American thing - it’s a common practice in many cultures.
But there’s a problem…
What if our relentless focus on doing keeps us from becoming who God wants us to be?
In Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, Pete Scazzero invites us to a better way of life. He explains:
A person who practices being before doing operates from a place of emotional and spiritual fullness, deeply aware of themselves, others, and God. As a result, their being with God is sufficient to sustain their doing for God.
Healthy Christian disciples and leaders are those who consistently live from this emotional and spiritual fullness, and it impacts every aspect of their lives (41).
As we think about 2024, there’s nothing wrong with setting a New Year’s Resolution.
In fact, that’s exactly what I want you to do.
But instead of setting goals that you want to accomplish, I want you to go deeper: to make a resolution about who you will become.
What if 2024 was a year that you lived with God?
Imagine waking up and remembering that God loves you.
You get cut off in traffic and feel the anger rise in your throat. But then you share those feelings with God… and experience his caring presence in the midst of your frustration.
Every day, we have good and bad moments. That’s life.
The question is this: how can we authentically remain present to God in all our circumstances?
To help us become disciples of Jesus, I’ve created a free resource for you.
It’s called Together. It’s 31 morning devotionals - one for each day in January.
If you want to start 2024 with daily guidance on experiencing God’s presence, sign up today:
Make 2024 the year you live with God.
And one more thing… please forward the link to friends at church. It would be awesome to do this together.