How Committed Are You To Your 2022 Resolution

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A new year often presents a fresh slate for making changes. Resolutions have become a common phenomenon at the beginning of each new year. According to a poll carried out by YouGov UK, 12% of UK adults made a new year resolution in 2020. Figures can be much higher in other parts of the world, as a similar study by YouGov America revealed that 27% of adult Americans made resolutions in 2020. A follow up at the end of the year for both polls indicate that just over a quarter of the people managed to achieve all their resolutions. Though one may be tempted to assume this was due to the pandemic, the 2018 figures reflect the same (24% for the UK).

In 2015, a poll by finder.com.au ^[1]Hutchison, Michelle (29 December 2014); Bunch of failures or just optimistic? finder.com.au New Year’s Resolution Study (Cited by Next Wave Therapy accessed 30/12/2021) , summarized in the chart below, suggests four key reasons people failed to keep their resolutions. The data implies that every resolution must be backed by real commitment if it would ever be achieved.

For people who have failed in achieving their resolutions in the past years, it is important not to tread the past path, but identify and avoid the barriers to fulfilling our resolutions. The Bible supports planning and achieving our set goals, as seen in Jesus’ teaching in Luke 14: 28-30, where He talks about building a tower, self-evaluation and finishing well. As a believer, His will for you is to prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John vs 2 NKJV). This confirms that our resolution should cover every aspect of our life, ranging from spiritual to health, career, family, finance etc. In making our resolutions for the New Year, we must follow proven biblical principles, some of which are discussed below.

Before we begin to make any plans, we must first understand God’s purpose because we may make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail (Proverbs 19:21 NLT). Once we know His purpose, we can then set realistic and right goals that would be achieved with His backing. This will also prevent us from setting too many goals or goals to impress/compete with others (Phillipians 2:3 NLT).

Another key ingredient required to make our resolution good is diligence, as it will bring to light our progress (1 Timothy 4:15). Habakkuk 2:2 (NASB) says … write down the vision and inscribe it clearly on tablets, so that one who reads it may run. Diligence implies writing down our resolution so we can read it repeatedly. Many people only appraise their resolution at the end of the year, at which point it might be too late to salvage the situation. Inscribing it clearly on tablets ensures we can easily access the goals and, hence, reflect on progress made. If it helps, you could have your resolution available and accessible to you in various forms so you can constantly run as you read it. Your spouse or a close buddy could also be one of the tablets where your vision/goals are inscribed. This will provide an additional reminder and improve the commitment to the resolution. As part of the diligence, we should take a cue from Paul’s charge to Timothy; Give your complete attention to these matters, throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress (1 Timothy 4:15 NLT) and be assured that that the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance and advantage (Proverbs 21:5 AMP).

Finally, and importantly is faith in the God of all possibilities. We must remember that there are some things people cannot do, but God can do anything (Matthew 19:26 CEV); hence we must delight in the LORD, and He will give us the desires and petitions of our hearts (Psalms 37:4 AMP). God is faithful to fulfil His part when we absolutely depend on and trust Him. We must look away from past failures, but with faith and diligence, focus on our God-inspired resolution for the New Year, and indeed your expectations shall not be cut off (Proverbs 23:18 KJV).

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