“Not that I…am already perfect, but I press on…. One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)

I confess that ending a year with regret and beginning a new one with apprehension is a familiar response for me.  Many broken resolutions later, I approach the New Year with a mixture of trepidation and hope—reservation about setting myself up for failure and hope that I will experience some real, concrete changes in my life.  My desire is for inward changes, though—the type of transformation that happens in my soul and is evidenced outwardly in my life.

So, I wondered how scriptural it is to make resolutions.  …and I found three interesting and powerful instances of personal resolve in the Bible:

“But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank…” (Daniel 1:8)

It is always good and right to resolve in our hearts not to be defiled by the “food” of this world, its passions, and philosophies—that is a resolution we can be confident that the Holy Spirit will support.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”  (Titus 2:11-14)

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

In another instance of “religious” resolve, God sent an angel with an opposing message—even though Joseph’s resolve to divorce Mary quietly spoke of compassion, it also echoed with fear and legalism.

“And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.  But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:19-20)

I think a lot of my past broken resolutions had more to do with legalism and what I thought was the right thing to do instead of being conceived by the Holy Spirit!

There is another story of resolve in the book of Acts.  After ministering extraordinarily in the city of Ephesus, with the word of the Lord continuing to “increase and prevail mightily” (Acts 19:20), the apostle Paul “resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, ‘After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” (v. 20)

These three men in their relationships with God, encapsulate my hope, my vision, my resolve for this new year:

• I resolve to not allow the world, with its desires, its passions, and its philosophies, to sweep my heart away with it. My plan for staying undefiled from the things that create enmity with God is to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, allowing Him to guide my heart into prayer and Bible study.  “…Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. …Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:4, 7-8)

• I resolve to practice the grace of Jesus, towards myself and others—I do not want legalism or self-righteousness to quench the tender life of Christ in my heart or the hearts of anyone else. Again, the only way I know to fulfill that resolve is through intimacy with my Savior.  “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

• And finally, I resolve to allow the Holy Spirit to have administrative control of my life, to go where He leads and do what He tells me to do, even when I do not understand. This one, I confess, I have difficulty with; fear lurks around corners and in the hidden places of my heart—I really need God’s Spirit to release me from my expectations, my reservations, and the things that hold me back from complete surrender to Him.  I find encouragement in these three facts:

1. God loves me! “…for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” (John 16:27)

2. Fear is not from God and I must not give it a place in my life! “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7); and…

3. God’s Spirit will not lead me where His peace does not fill me. “…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)