It’s that time again. While resolutions are as much a source of New Year’s humor as they are serious attempts at doing better, the fact that New Year’s resolutions even exist is at least an acknowledgment by us humans that we have weaknesses. At the same time, they can be an evidence of our lack of follow-through. According to a US News survey, 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned by the second week of February. About eight percent of resolution-makers actually persevere.
New Year’s resolutions are typically made in areas where we have natural inclinations to slack off. We know this because we typically don’t make resolutions (at least not serious ones) like:
- “I need to eat more desserts this year,” or
- “This year I pledge to get less exercise,” or
- “I need to spend more time watching TV,” or
- “I need to stop flossing so much this year.”
There are multiple reminders in the Scriptures about our weaknesses and propensity to give in to temptation, for example:
- Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He was in earnest prayer to the Father about going to the cross, found His disciples sleeping, and reminded them that “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)
- The apostle Paul wrote about his own weaknesses and struggles against sin in Romans 7: “… for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.” (Romans 7:18-19)
Paul aptly captures the struggles we all have between the flesh and spirit. This was right after he gave the powerful contrast in Romans 6 that as believers we are no longer slaves of sin but slaves of righteousness (6:17-18). In other words, in Christ we now have the freedom to choose not to sin, while before, we were in bondage to it. Yet at the same time there is still a struggle within us between flesh and spirit. We still have to make those choices.
The difference is that, as believers, we can now make these choices out of gratitude for what God has done for us rather than out of worldly motivation, which usually involves a sense of obligation, fear, or pride (the “look what I did” incentive). The world’s motivation is self-centered; our motivation is God-focused. This is an important and actually quite radical difference between man’s way and God’s way in how to address the problems of life.
Paul clearly recognized this because after his detailed description of his own frailties, he closes Chapter 7 with the rhetorical question: “Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (verse 24) and the answer: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” He could gratefully be victorious in his struggles because of what the Lord had done for him. This is how he could say in 1 Corinthians 15:9 that he was the “least of the apostles;” in Ephesians 3:8 that he was “the least of all saints;” and in 1 Timothy 1:15, toward the end of his ministry, that he was the “foremost of sinners.” It was not that he sinned more; rather, he was becoming more aware of his weaknesses and more aware of the magnitude of God’s forgiveness as he grew.
Benjamin Franklin once quipped “in this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes.” There are a few other certainties, of course, one of them being the daily battles between the flesh and spirit. Like Paul, we find that our struggles between the flesh and spirit never cease, and they involve day-by-day and hour-by-hour choices to go God’s way or our own.
So how do we get prepared for this battle in 2023? Part of it comes as we steadily grow in our faith in response to the tests and trials of life. God says in Hebrews 5:14 “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” He contrasts that to those who are still at the “milk stage.” The more we put into practicing the truths of God’s Word, the more discernment we have to keep on growing. The good news is that there will be plenty of day-by-day opportunities for practicing the truths of God in 2023 as our choices between the flesh and spirit get tested in God’s training ground. So we best be prepared for it, New Year’s resolutions or not.
So how do we do that? We are familiar with the great promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that “… God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able ….” So we understand that tests and trials will come, and why we have reason for hope. But we frequently forget about verse 12 immediately prior, which speaks to the preparation for facing temptation and about verse 14, which tells us what to do in the face of temptation.
God says in verse 12 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” The “therefore” is referring to the verses 1-11 describing the many times that the Israelites strayed from God through idolatry, immorality, grumbling, etc. As stated in verse 6, “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” Then God tells us in verse 14 what we are to do when we are in the middle of temptation: “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” In other words, there are often decisive actions that we need to take. We can’t just hope the desire goes away.
Those of you who have taken the Self-Confrontation course know the basic structure of facing, dealing with, and enduring the problems of life: biblical understanding, biblical hope, biblical change (the “put-offs” and “put-ons”), and biblical practice (having a biblically-based, practical plan for change). Many of you are also familiar with the “Victory Over Failures Plan,” or VOFP, that is part of the course. It is intended to be a biblical approach to help us address and be prepared for the real-life struggles and challenges we face.
While the VOFP is best understood as part of the course itself, it is also available as a stand-alone booklet. One of the new tools produced in 2022 is a video explaining the application of the VOFP, which could be helpful whether or not you have been through the course. The VOFP can guide you through biblical principles for dealing with a range of problems that might include relationship issues, forgiveness/reconciliation, anger, worry, dealing with temptations, or for that matter, the types of problems that might pop up in New Year’s resolutions. The Victory Over Failures Plan booklet is available on BCF’s website at: Victory Over Failures Plan (VOFP).
The link to the free 96-minute video may be found at: https://vimeo.com/750492232.
To sum up, when you think about it, we should be prepared to “take heed” and “flee temptation” at any time during the year, as we become sensitive to areas of our life where the Holy Spirit is getting our attention. If for some people things are brought to mind because of the New Year, that’s great! But we want to be growing in our love for Jesus and to follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21) on a daily basis. A biblical plan for change (i.e. “taking heed”), whether the VOFP or another plan God uses in your life, will pay many dividends in your daily walk with Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, and motivated by gratitude. God bless you and family in 2023.
Steve Smith