I Resolve!

by Tim LaVere
(West Branch, Michigan)

There was a time - I'm still not entirely sure why - that I resolved to give up chocolate for an entire year. No candy bars, no hot cocoa on a cold winter's night, not even a measly little peanut M&M. Somehow, I made it through the entire year. I suppose I did it just to prove that I could!

I can't say that I've been that successful with every resolution. Many of us make resolutions in the new year to be better people, lose weight, find a new job, etc. And then as the excitement of the holidays begins to wane, we'll forget about our resolutions and get back to life as normal.

Perhaps it's time that we look at our resolutions from a new perspective. In God's word, a resolution was not just part of a wish list, it was a binding agreement; a covenant with God.

For instance, the prophet Daniel resolved "not to defile himself with the royal food and wine" (Daniel 1:8). Paul wrote, "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (I Corinthians 2:2). A resolution was a promise made by God's followers that would draw them into a more meaningful relationship with Him. Rare would be the time that our great heroes of the Bible would even think of breaking a resolution.

So what resolutions have you made? Perhaps it's time to consider if the resolutions we make are for our own sakes, or for God's glory. May I suggest that our promises can benefit both? Let's resolve to be the spouses, parents, students or workers that God intends for us to be. The Bible urges us to offer ourselves as a "living sacrifice" to Him (I Corinthians 12:1)! And it comes with a guarantee that God will show us His perfect, pleasing will for our lives. In other words, when we resolve to please God, He will bless our families.

Giving up chocolate for a year didn't do a thing for me. I didn't lose any weight, I still got teenage pimples, and I didn't feel any healthier. Why? Because it wasn't a resolution done for God's glory. I did it only to see if I could. How much more could we see God pour into our lives if we resolve to glorify Him instead?