Why I'm Not Resolving

The new year always calls for New Year's resolutions. 

We fill in the blank: This year I will ___________.

Work out more. Eat more organic. Read more of the Bible. Achieve more at work.

More trying. More striving. More promises. More good intentions.

My Type A heart swoons when it comes to this. Creating check boxes and to-do lists and goal setting. I am amazing at this. What I'm not so amazing at is that all of this "stuff" ends up getting in the way of my actual goal. Lists become priorities above relationships. And all of my "achieving" simply becomes more striving to do things on my own without Jesus. I fool myself into thinking that I can earn God's love and favor with all of my resolutions.

So this year there will be no resolutions for me. As good as they can be and as valuable as goals are, it's just not a fit for my heart. Resolutions lead to more striving when I should be resting. More doing when I should be sitting at his feet. More achieving when I should be listening. More promises when I should be trusting the one who keeps all promises perfectly.

So if I have to make a New Year's Resolution for 2014, it will be this:

This year I will rest in Jesus' finished work on the cross.

This year I will celebrate His faithfulness rather than my feeble attempts at my own.