A new year without…. Fill in the blank. Did you make New Year’s resolutions? Have you already identified what changes you are going to make for 2020? Many of us choose the beginning of a new year to take time to reflect on the past, as well as, look toward the future. How do you come up with your resolutions? Do you choose the same ones from last year that were broken after the first week, or do you pick something trendy like eating healthier, exercising more, spending less or finding a new job? What if you involved God in helping you attain your goals and 2020 vision? What if you asked God to show you what you should focus on for 2020 or maybe even change?
In Philippians 3:12 – 16, Paul tells us to forget everything else and seek only after God. He continues by letting us know that when we seek after God and get off track, the Lord will let us know and get us back on track. This is a promise to us if we put the kingdom of God first. How much easier would it be for us to keep our New Year’s resolutions when they are made by seeking God with all our heart first or even asking God to help us with our goal for 2020.
When Paul wrote this to the Philippians, it was several years after his Damascus Road conversion. He was confessing that he was pressing toward this goal of seeking God, as he had not yet arrived spiritually. Paul who spent three years in the desert one-on-one with God still needed to press in toward Him.
During this time of reflection on 2019 and at the close of another decade, it would be good to look back at the moment you asked Jesus into your life. What was that experience like? He saved you from a life of destruction and gave you a new life. You became a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and your life changed. Here are just a few irreversible things that took place.
- Received everlasting life (John 3:16)
- Became a son/daughter of God (John 1:12)
- Passed from death unto life (John 5:24)
- Redeemed from under the law (Galatians 4:5)
- Reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18)
- Justified and peace with God (Romans 5:1)
- Perfected forever (Hebrews 10:14)
- Sealed with God’s Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
- Seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6)
- Redeemed from the curse (sickness) of the law (Galatians 3:13)
- Healed at the cross (Isaiah 53:4-5)
- Crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20) buried with Christ (Romans 6:4) and resurrected with Christ (Ephesians 2:6)
Take time to remember all that God has done for you and the blessings He has provided. When you read the Old Testament, you can see how many times the Israelites reflected back on all God did for them and it seemed that when they weren’t seeking the Lord, they got off track.
Read through this list and search the scriptures for more of the promises from God and what to stand on as your resolutions for 2020.
Get God’s 2020 Vision for your life!
~Donna Jones