It is a new year! The holidays have come and gone. I can still smell the turkey from Thanksgiving; yet, we are now in 2019! Over the past few weeks, my friends have been sharing their plans with me – their New Year’s resolutions. Their lists sound a lot like mine: eat healthier, exercise more, stop a particular habit, get organized, keep a better schedule. Familiar?

We all have them, those aspects of our lives we want to change. It is a time we focus on ourselves for improvement. It is a time to daydream of what we can become. But is our focus correct?

Unfortunately, the resolutions I do not hear frequently are “to have a closer relationship with God. To focus on God. To make God my daily habit.”

Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Psalm 50:15, “…and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

Isaiah 55:6, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on Him while He is near.”

The reality is most New Year’s resolutions fail. We start out with tremendous enthusiasm and plans. We brag to our friends and, with the best of intentions, realize somewhere around January 20th that our proposal was a bit too tough. By mid-February we realize we are right back to our old ways. Is it that we lose focus?  Or is it that our focus is on the wrong thing? God tells us to call on Him! The closer we are to Him, the easier it is for us to have a victory in Him.

Put God at the top of your list this year. Commit to daily devotions and Bible study. Commit to prayer. Determine now that you will eliminate the junk in your life that is contrary to God and His laws. You know what needs to go – throw it out. Rededicate your life to God. I can guarantee you, if you stick to God, He will definitely stick to you.

Join me daily this year as we learn how to be disciples of God, one day at a time. May God bless you in this coming new year. Happy New Year!