Making Some New Year’s Adjustments

The practice of new year’s resolutions dates back over 3000 years to the Babylonians, and is still going strong today. When a new year rolls around, millions of people feel an obligation, if not pressure, from society to make a few resolutions, all the while knowing they will probably be unsuccessful in meeting them – again.

If it’s such a vicious cycle, why do we keep participating in this practice year after year? Why do we constantly make resolutions, only to fail the majority of the time?  Why do we willingly set ourselves up for disappointment?

The truth is that making resolutions seems to bring hope and possibility for a change in certain areas of our lives that we feel is much needed and wanted. We feel a sense of empowerment about a fresh start and a new beginning. We feel confident in our ability so stand firm in our commitments, and we assure ourselves that our desires will help us persevere through the difficulties to strive to meet our goals  ….. that is, until reality sinks in and meeting our goals gets harder and harder, until we reach the point where give up all together.

The definition of insanity is to continue doing the same things over and over, and expecting different results. If this is true, making resolutions every year could potentially make us all insane!

In today’s Proverbs 31 devotion, I invited readers to hop over to my blog to glean some ideas on starting this new year off on the right foot. But my intention is not to give a list of tips that you could most likely find anywhere on the internet, but to encourage you to make this the year that you break the insanity cycle, by focusing on making positive adjustments one little step at a time, rather than listing out life altering resolutions that may never be met.

The definition of resolution is: a solution, accommodation, or settling of a problem, controversy, etc.

The definition of adjustment is:  harmony achieved by modification or change of a position

Hmmmm ….. would you rather start out the year thinking about all your problems, flaws and shortcomings and how you might be able to resolve them or improve, or thinking about meaningful things that could benefit from a little tweaking to bring more harmony and joy into your heart and life?

Adjustments and commitments, if given the right focus, can have huge impact on our spiritual and physical well-being all year long, and possibly for the rest of our lives. I love our 1 Timothy 4:8  reminds us what’s really important, by saying “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (NIV)

This verse is not saying we shouldn’t care about our physical state, because 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds us that our bodies are God’s temples, and we should treat them accordingly. However, Timothy encourages us to find a balance between making physical goals which affect God’s temple, and spiritual goals which affect our heart for God.  Simply put, we should care about our spiritual state above all else, and we should care more about the condition of our heart, than the condition of our thighs.

With this in mind, New Year’s “adjustments” can be determined by simply asking ourselves a few questions about areas of our life that may be in need of an adjustment, and then being honest enough to admit the true answers.

We can consider things such as our attitude, our faith walk, how we treat others, our willingness to forgive, how we handle conflict, and the setting of daily priorities. We can look at how much time we spend with God, and if it pales in comparison to how much time we spend watching television, scrolling through Facebook or hanging out on Pinterest.  We can assess whether or not we typically seek God’s wisdom and direction about decisions in our life, or if we typically turn to other people or the internet for advice instead. We can ponder if we trust God when life gets tough, or if we automatically falsely assume that maybe He just doesn’t care about us anymore.

Personal goals are awesome – we all need them and they often drive us to strive for our dreams.  But if we set spiritual goals too, our personal goals will eventually fall right in line with God’s will for our lives – and when we are His will, all things are possible.

When we make positive adjustments on the inside and seek God’s advice on new years goals and dreams, the adjustments we desire to see on the outside may become a reality as well.

Inward change always drives outward change, and only God holds the power to true and meaningful change in His holy hands.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever. (The Message)

So what “adjustments” might God be calling you to make in 2014?

6 Comments

  1. Gramma Lee on Tuesday, December 31, 2013 at 9:20 am

    Happy New Year to everyone at Proverbs 31 Ministries! You have been a marvelous influence and resource to me and several friends during 2013. Many of your daily devotions have been passed around and discussed and some cried over.

    A very close lifetime friend went home to Jesus this December. Her birthday was 12/25 and your suggestion to send year end donations as a memorial was the perfect way to honor her. Thank you for allowing her to continue to reach out in love even now, as she did in life here.

    THANK YOU for spreading God’s word!



  2. juneh on Wednesday, January 1, 2014 at 9:16 pm

    It’s the second day of the new year that worries me because it is also the start of the working day for the year and I do not have work. This morning I woke up with a cold heart and after prayer, a song came into my mind “Just As I Am” and then another song “One Day At A Time Sweet Jesus”. Then I read CrossWalk Devotional message from you about :New years’ Traditions. So my start in subscribing to your blog. I need to surrender myself and trust the Lord. Most importantly, I see the encouragement coming from your thoughts. So this year is reading the Bible daily to gain nourishment, to exercise my mind and heart spiritually, and to follow His lighted path “one day at a time” submitting myself to Him “as I am” so that He can heal and change me, His child.



  3. Lori Ann on Sunday, January 5, 2014 at 8:07 am

    I am reading this late, due to my extremely busy schedule and lack of down time. This, however, comes at a time that I have been thinking about making a change that will hopefully better by New Year. I have been working 50-55 hours a week since August and am “burnt out” to say the least. My part time job in our local school district made cut backs this year and I felt like I needed to take on a second job to make up for it. The problem is that now I am working more than a full time job between the two. This has left me with little to no time most days to do the things I have enjoyed in the past. Although I have still made time to read my Bible and pray, I know that even that is not where it should be.
    After reading your blog, I am even more sure that I need to resign one of my part time jobs and be home more with my family – – my son will graduate high school in June so I can enjoy the last few months that he is home. I can also sign up for some online Bible studies once again. I have so enjoyed these in the past. And maybe, just maybe, I will even get my son’s scrapbook finished before graduation. I feel that this small adjustment, although it changes our finances, will also change more important things in a positive way.



  4. Cammi Waggoner on Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:06 am

    I am thankful for my husband that he kissese goodbye every morning before he goes to work. I so thankful for the birds. I am thankful for the beautiful snow



  5. Cheryl Allagood on Friday, February 28, 2014 at 4:52 pm

    I am thankful for the simple things in life that happen every day, all I have to do is look around me to find so much to be happy about and see my blessings. I keep thinking I will read 1000 Gifts but just never got around to buying the book.



  6. Sapna Khatun on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 4:14 am

    One World Presentation Management. Providing solutions for conference management that make new opportunities possible. Where a great conference strengthens membership loyalty. Step by step plan to build your meeting program.
    https://speakerready.com



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Tracie Miles is a bestselling author and the Director of COMPEL Training with Proverbs 31 Ministries.  She helps women grow stronger in their faith, pursue the life of purpose God designed them for and live a life of peace, joy and happiness despite their circumstances.

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