Originally posted on Fruitofmybranches.com
Happy New Year everyone! With a new year comes new desires for a better version of yourself. My personal list is pretty long: I want to…continue learning Spanish (and actually hold a conversation), be consistent with working out (need to build my stamina), start volunteering with an orphanage, become more organized and better with time & money management, go on a mission trip, travel more, rest more, start drawing again, and blog more.
If I accomplish all those things, 2017 will be a good year. And, good is good, but I want it to be phenomenal! Subsequently, I’m going to work towards doing everything I just listed, but here are my main focal points for this year:
Dethrone Feelings/Emotions
I didn’t realize it until recently, but my emotions rule me. Over time, they’ve been promoted to CEO of my decision-making, and I cannot stand the position they hold in my life. God and my emotions can’t both be the Lord of my life, so my emotions have got to be dethroned this year. That’s going to happen by strengthening my spirit so it’s stronger than my flesh (always following emotions means your flesh possesses more strength in that area). I’ll elaborate more on this in a future post (this month).
Daily Death of Pride
If I could describe pride, I would say it’s an ugly stronghold whose playground is your emotions. It loves to hide behind righteousness and entitlement, so it appears to be innocent and justifiable until you shine the light of the word on it. I’ve fostered and nourished pride in my heart for YEARS and didn’t even know it. I didn’t know how to identify it, so I didn’t know I had a problem. Plus, pride is often misdiagnosed as “not a big deal” and it’s encouraged in our society as a sign of strength & respect (YUCK, now that’s some serious perversion). BUT, in my life, the jig is up (thanks to the Holy Spirit)! So, here’s the game plan: I’ve already started praying, studying the Word in this area, and listening to sermons (Joyce Meyer has some awesome messages on pride). I’m going to continue doing these things, but I’m also going to read a book by Andrew Murray entitled, “Humility” with a friend, and I’m going to intentionally look for opportunities to humble myself…I know this isn’t going to be a pleasurable experience (lowering yourself when you feel like you should be lifted hurts), but I don’t want pride to stand in the way of me growing closer to Christ and being used by Him.
Draw Closer to God
This is the goal of every year. I desire to be closer to God this year than I was last year. And, logically, it seems as though this goal should have been the first item on my list, but I’m learning how important it is to address things like emotions and pride first. They can be hindrances to getting closer to God (check out James 4) – I don’t want maintaining “friendships” with the ways of the world (being led by emotions & pride is the norm) to stand between me going to a deeper level with God…You know what’s so awesome?! God promises to give us more grace in the areas that we struggle with (James 4:6-10), so we can resist the devil and draw closer to God. **Side Note – Here’s a quick visual of resist: when a person is charged with resisting arrest, it’s because they dodged the handcuffs and/or tried to break away from custody during an arrest. The opposite would then be surrendering and volunteering your wrists to be cuffed. Unfortunately, the latter is how we look when the devil comes to tempt us in areas where we’re weak – we surrender. BUT, that’s why this passage in James 4 is such amazing news! In areas where you don’t have strength to resist, God will give you extra grace (i.e. – the ability to do what you cannot do in your own strength – also check out 2 Corinthians 12:9)** Conclusion – I will grow closer to God this year because I will humble myself before Him, and He will give me the grace/strength to overcome the things that stand between us getting closer.
Help Someone Else Overcome What I’ve Overcome
God has delivered me from some major things and He’s still at work in me. So, this year (and in years to come), I want to help others grow in areas where I’ve grown and am growing. Whether it’s by blogging more, doing bible studies, mentoring, or just spending time with others and loving on them, I want to be more intentional about helping others in areas where God has helped me…Also, this year I want to think about and pray about me less and others more.
Those are my main focuses for 2017, and I sat down earlier this week to draft a plan for working towards them. What are your resolutions? Have you taken the time to write them down and brainstorm a plan for execution? If not, I encourage you to do that this week. Oh, and don’t forget an accountability partner! They will help to ensure that you follow through with your plans. Also, remember to set realistic goals. You don’t want to set your goals too high and then burn out due to disappointment. Have an overall goal for the year, but set smaller, progressive goals that lead to the bigger goal. This year can be a phenomenal year, especially if you pair it with prayer and planning…God did amazing things in my life in 2016, and I didn’t even plan, so what will He be able to do when He and I plan together?! **G.I.G.**
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