Many of us have new years resolutions that we plan to activate at the beginning of the year. The idea of these resolutions is to take steps to make our lives better. Some of these may even be steps to improve our spiritual walk. But we should ask ourselves the question, why wait? If we believe that the new direction will help us do better, especially in service to God, then why do we wait until January first? If we drank poison and were handed an antidote, would we designate a day in the future to start taking the medicine? No! We would drink it right away. A New Years’ resolution is a custom that seems to fail for most. Could it be that it’s because we don’t put enough urgency to the change by delaying the start of it? We should not delay, especially concerning spiritual matters. Maybe we won’t even live until the new year and so why not start now? The Bible teaches us that we should always be ready.
Luke 12:35-40
35 “Stay dressed for action[f] and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
I encourage all of us who have goals for the new year to start now. Start today, as God has blessed us with another day. Let’s get a head start on the new year!
— Sebastian Stroughter
