The uncertainties of the past two years (should) have humbled all of us when it comes to speaking about the future. I observe humorously that "Godwilling" has crept into the vocabulary of some of my erstwhile most self-determining acquaintances. But we are human, and we can rarely resist the temptation to put things in place towards the kind of future we aspire to. This is not wholly fleshly. God is a planner. He does not only know, but more importantly makes, the future. This certainly demands the twin burden of projection and strategisation. The most central doctrines of the Christian faith (like election and predestination, salvation, and the provision of Christ as the sacrificial lamb) hinge directly on His responsive omniscience.
So as we find ourselves on the precipice of a brand new year, many of us have begun to (sub)consciously prepare towards it. There are vices about which we are telling ourselves, "I can't continue this next year too." There are virtues we recognize, "By next year, I have to start being serious in this." There are courses we always meant to take, relationships to build or destroy, strategic and corrective actions to adjust our path to, so that we do not find ourselves this time next year feeling the same unfruitfulness we despise.
It is a good and necessary first step to record our new year's resolutions, but (as we all know) the doing is not in the writing. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Here are a few Christian tips to make those resolutions more effective.
1. PRAY INTO IT
Without exception, the counsel of the Lord shall stand (Prov. 19:21). Every plan is indeed subject to "Godwilling". This is why prayer into every thought, purpose, and plan for the future must begin immediately. The rich man in Jesus' parable in Lk. 12 had everything in place for the future, but was condemned as a fool because in one conversation, all his plans were revealed to be pointless (Lk. 12:20). God's specific curse is on those who plan without prayer (Isa. 30:1), and even national and international strategies stand no chance against His will (Ps. 33:10,11; Isa. 8:10). He delightfully frustrates plans that displease Him (Neh. 4:15; Job 5:12,13). No wonder Jesus spent so much time praying (Lk. 5:16; Mk. 1:35; Lk. 6:12): He knew that even ministry without God's input would be wasted. This is what accounted for God's presence with Him (Jn. 8:29). So don't waste your time: pray first. Pray now. Pray specifically about each thought for your future. Many times, this involves merely mentioning these before God; after all, His desire is simply that we acknowledge Him in all our ways (Prov. 3:6) and commit them to Him (Prov. 16:3). Then, our desires will be established.
2. POSITION YOURSELF STRATEGICALLY
The second important thing to watch is what kind of goals you are setting. God often blesses us along the lines of our gifts and calling. A Jonah going in the wrong direction will keep being hampered by storms and the ire of travelling partners, but when he comes to his senses, miracles and divine resources are made available. Because God had called Isaac to remain in a land of famine (Gen. 26:2), supernatural and incomprehensible overflow was the outcome (Gen. 26:12-14). When your new year's resolutions align with the things God has called you to do, you stand a better chance of achieving them, not only because they are exactly in line with His purposes anyway, but also because that is where you are graced to accomplish much more with relatively less effort (1 Cor. 15:10). Jesus submitted Himself entirely to God's call on His life: He rejected kingship (Jn. 6:15), fame (Mk. 7:24; 9:30), and opportunities to enrich Himself (Matt.19:21), but accepted the Cross (Matt. 26:54; Matt. 16:22,23). So watch what goes on your list: place yourself where God wants you to be. Write out for yourself at least 5 things you sense/know God wants you to do with your life, based on your physical and spiritual gifts, calling, skills and talents. Then your resolutions for the next year can be more aligned with His path for you (Eph. 2:10; Jer. 1:5; Exod. 31:1-6). This is a helpful exercise for focusing your life. All labour is good, but some labour can be pointless. If you're not sure about what your gifts and calling are, you can check out this book on identifying your gifts by JFK and Georgina Mensah.
3. PLAN FOR IT
The third important thing we often neglect is planning. There is a great temptation to either over-plan or under-plan, but the promise for the Christian is that we will be led by the Spirit (Rom. 8:14) and that we must keep in step with Him (Gal. 5:25). True, there are times when God gives no specific plans for you to do something He commands: Abraham had to leave his comfort zone and go, not knowing what lay ahead (Heb. 11:8). But more often than not, He provides winning though sometimes unexpected strategies for achieving what He wants you to do: the stories of Jehoshaphat, Gideon, David, and even Paul and his missionary team are excellent examples. Jesus did not despise working with a plan (Lk. 14:28-32); He lived and died according to plan (Matt. 16:21; 17:22,23; 20:17-19). God assesses plans and picks the ones that will work (1 Kings 22:19-22). Satan too plans: his demons work with tried and tested strategies (Matt. 12:43-45). Evil people like Jonadab plan (2 Sam. 13:5). Can you afford not to? So don't neglect to plan. Plan with specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound decisions. Write them out. It is not enough to say that you will finally read through the whole Bible in 2022; plan how and when and how many chapters and where you will read.
4. PARTNER PROPERLY
Gen. 2:18 has almost been hijacked by marriage speakers, but Eccl. 4:9-12 bears it witness that there is a strength in teaming up with others which cannot be overlooked. Not only is there strength, but there is blessing (Ps. 133) and effectiveness (Matt. 18:19). From the right godly partners, you get counsel (like Moses got from Jethro), rebuke (like David got from Joab), prayer support (like Peter got from the early church when he was imprisoned), and a team for work (like Bezalel got from Oholiab and other skilled craftspeople). Note that you must find the right godly partners. Jesus was good at discerning those He could not entrust Himself to (Jn. 2:24), those whose commitment was shallow (Matt. 8:19,20), those who were giving wrong counsel (Matt. 16:23; Jn. 7:3-8), and those who would betray him (Jn. 6:70,71) from those who were really on His side as partners. By the help of the Spirit, we also must take responsibility for teaming up in wisdom. There are people God has appointed as helpers for you and with you (eg. Moses and Aaron, Bezalel and Oholiab, Paul and Barnabas, David and Jonathan). Find them and keep them as gold. There are people He sends your way who may seem completely unconnected to you (like the Ethiopian eunuch for Philip, and Cornelius' household for Peter). Then there are people He has thrown in your path so that you cannot dodge them, like family members, workmates, churchmates, or teammates. Learn how to sift through the people in your life and see them as the resources Heaven has given you. So resist the temptation to only be accountable to yourself for your resolutions: involve other godly people, and see the difference it can make.
5. PREEMPT POTHOLES
It is all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because you have planned and prayed and are in the will of God for your life and have surrounded yourself with godly partners, you cannot fail. God has not made life quite so formulaic. In all your planning, remember to prepare for the days of famine (Gen. 41:36): there are days when your flesh will fail (Matt. 26:41; Ps. 73:26); when your plans fall through due to the seeming unfaithfulness of God; when -- despite your greatest efforts -- you fall again into the trap of Satan (2 Tim. 2:26) and are outwitted by him (2 Cor. 2:11). Satan will come to sift you (Lk. 22:31), and come again at an opportune time (Lk. 4:13). As he prowls around, he may find you a prey (1 Pet. 5:8) and deceive you by his cunning (2 Cor. 11:3,14). He may put the wrong suggestions in your heart (Jn. 13:2; Acts 5:3), provoke you to sin (1 Chron. 21:1,2), and even outrightly be granted permission to hurt you and yours (Job 1:12; 2:6). Recognize in your planning that you may fail. How grateful we can be that the righteous will always be helped to rise again when they fall (Prov. 24:16; Dan. 12:1; 1 Pet. 5:10; Lk. 22:32)! In fact, God keeps us from falling by the strength of His mighty arm (Jude 24). So Jesus knew ahead of time and strengthened Himself in the inner man when the trial of the Cross was approaching (Lk. 22:40,43,44). Moses was also prepared by God to handle the recalcitrance of both Israel (Exod. 4:1-9) and Pharaoh (Exod. 3:19,20), though he initially still interpreted it as a failure in his ministry (Exod. 5:22,23; 6:12). Many times, we already know the things that are most likely to distract us, tempt us, and derail us. God also warns us sometimes, as He did for Peter (Lk. 22:31), Solomon (1 Kings 11:9,10), Laban (Gen. 31:24), the magi (Matt. 2:12), and the king of Israel in Elisha's time (2 Kings 6:9), so that we can adjust our course as necessary. Don't fall into the potholes ahead of you. Plan for them. Pray (Matt. 26:41), but watch. Make sure to obey when you hear.
6. PLIABILITY PRESERVES
The final tip for making your new year resolutions work is to be ready to abandon them. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? I will have to write a whole other article about flexibility, because it was a hard-won lesson. But it is true that what is not flexible will break. When we cannot bend our will, our plans, or our way to God's, it becomes a war of wills, and His will will always win. Whoever falls on that stone will be broken -- painful, but better than being crushed when it has to fall on you (Matt. 21:44). How hard it is for us to truly believe that God's ways and thoughts are not ours; more than that, they are higher than ours (Isa. 55:8,9)! No wonder we keep losing sight of God along the paths of our plans. When He is searching for water, He goes to a rock. When there are 5000 people to feed, He finds a little boy's lunch. When there is an innumerable army arrayed against us, He commands us to cut our military numbers down to just 300. When our plans and experience and prejudice collide with what God is doing right now, we have to learn to lay down our arms and just follow Him. Jesus leaves me speechless. He was flexible in ways and at times and with people that demonstrate that He was entirely given to the command of God. He would leave crowds to minister to one person; pause on the way to a little girl's deathbed to chat with some random woman about her healing; go into the homes of publicly-shunned "sinners" while lambasting the apparently righteous; spend extra unplanned days in a Samaritan village after gabbing with a (most likely) prostitute; delay until Lazarus was 4 days buried before showing up... He confounded the religious leaders of His time, and me, now! He knew that God can change the strategy at any point, because He knows everything. My role is to go where God goes. This does not come automatically. It takes grace to learn how to abound and abase, to recognize simply that whatever it is that God is doing, I can do all things with Him through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:11-13). Remember to remain flexible when you see that what God is doing is different from what you planned.
So there we have it. Planning for a new year can be exciting and full of hope, but make sure you don't plan amiss. God is our helper.