We are about to start a new year. Is yours going to be one of the best years of your life? It can be. It is up to you and your attitude.
My inspiration this week is the Bible verse, Romans 12:12 that reads “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” Your life and circumstance is what you make of it. Having a great year does not mean that you will have more money than you have ever had in your life. It has nothing to do with material things. Have you started considering New Year’s resolutions? So many people have these major goals that they want to accomplish and starting a new calendar year seems like a good time to start fresh.
Most of these goals do not have anything to do with material things. They normally have to do with your personal growth. Some people want to lose weight while others want to give up smoking. Maybe your goal is to be more organized. Think about what your attitude is going into these new goals. I consider this the “rejoicing in hope” part of the verse. You are optimistic that everything will turn out the way that you planned it. Does it always end up that way? No, but it is not necessarily a bad thing.
That does not mean that you need to give up on your goals, though. Just because you did not lose that 10 pounds in the first month, does not mean that you will not, or can not lose those pounds later. Nobody plans to have a bad year. Sometimes things happen that are beyond your control. When the economy took a turn for the worse a few years ago, many people lost their jobs. Some were in long term careers, but companies had to downsize. You will have some suffering in your life. This may be financial setbacks or in some cases health issues that take away your attention from everything else.
” Be patient in suffering” is what the Bible tells us to do. This is not an easy task. After things smooth out and the suffering goes away, we realize that it was not as bad as we thought when we were going through it. If we know what is really important in life, we can put it all into perspective. If your income suddenly drops, it may mean that you can not go out to eat on a regular basis. This means eating at home with the family and having a home cooked meal. It comes back to your attitude about the situation.
As you go through the good times as well as the struggles, “persevere in prayer.” Take time out of your busy life to let God know what you are thinking. Praise Him for all of your blessings and lay your struggles at His feet. He gives us hope and comforts us in our struggles. We are nothing without Him.
As you prepare your New Year’s resolutions, do not just think of the typical goals. Think about how you can include God in these goals. It will make a big difference. I would love to hear your goals for the new year. Making them public knowledge helps people support you through the process and hold you accountable for accomplishing them.
I wish all of you a Blessed and Happy New Year!
