Finish What you Started

The ball has dropped and the evidence of celebrating a new year has long been cleaned up. A new year usually comes with a sense of getting it right, and a promise that it will be different this time. A new year has the taste of hope and the promise of a fresh start hanging in the air. But here we are coming to the end of January 2025; the third Monday of the year. By this point we have already reached “National Quitters Day,” a day that researchers have determined most people have abandoned their goals or resolutions by. Studies in fact show that most of us don’t even reach the second weekend of the year before quitting. I am left with one major question: how can we start so full of hope and promise on day one, only to throw in the towel and quit nine days later? 

               Change brings a state of discomfort and New Year’s resolutions are a change that’s usually optional. I want to be skinny, but I’d rather eat cheeseburgers and chocolate, so I settle for what I want rather than what I need to change. I want to save money, but I can’t give up the latest trends or fashion, so I will settle for looking the part but not actually having any money. We want to pursue God more, but we are too busy and don’t want to give up our Netflix time, so we settle for church on Sunday only. When the discomfort of change hits us, we will change our commitment level to match the level of comfort that we desire. We tend to remain the same out of habit and lack of willingness to be uncomfortable. A reality that most of us don’t like is that in order to change you have to be willing to be uncomfortable. Change is necessary for growth. Could you imagine remaining the size of an infant your whole life; never learning to feed yourself, hold your head up, or walk.  Seems crazy right? Growth will always require change. You will not get different results if you don’t change something. If you aren’t changing you likely aren’t growing. What do you do when growth knocks on your door with an opportunity for change? 

               God has been speaking, “it is time for growth.” That sounds good on paper right. But how many of us know that growth is painful, change is uncomfortable. Too many of us have settled in complacency and grown apathetic because the pain of change has required too much on our part. See we would rather look the part instead of putting in the work to be the part. So, like the world we have made big commitments at the beginning of the year and let the pursuit of those die just a few days later. 

               Pastor Dan was talking about growth this past Sunday. As he was closing his sermon, he said something profound and dripping with wisdom, “Never underestimate the power of small habits.” We like to take on big challenges and commitments but try to accomplish them all at once. Have you ever heard the saying: “there is only one way to eat an elephant, one bite at a time.” It is the same concept for us. You don’t accomplish a marathon simply by saying you are going to do it, you train for it, you take months or sometimes even years conditioning your body for it. Trying to take things on as a whole sets us up for failure. But as Pastor said if we would take a look at our small habits and change them according to our goals, we would impact the big goals so much more! 

If my goal was to study the Bible more yet I don't even read it, then that is a big challenge. Most of us would get one to two chapters into the lineage of Christ and stop. But what if we started by committing to reading a few chapters a day and building on it as we go? What if I wanted to be a prayer warrior or an intercessor yet I didn’t have much of a prayer life? I wouldn’t accomplish much before distraction struck and my goal was long forgotten. But if I decided to impact my big goal with small changes in my habits (Set aside prayer time, talking to God throughout my day, asking for compassion for the people and world around me, making a prayer list), before I knew it, I would be closer to my goal. If you want more of God but don’t make changes to accommodate that in your life, then you are making a bold statement with no real plans for that to actually happen. And that is why most of us, even in the church, are like those in the world that have a whole day dedicated to us. Because like Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

               I know some of you may be reading this snickering to yourself with the thought of, “joke is on her I didn’t make any big goals or resolutions for this new year.” Well, I have news for you that sounds like survival mode (stuck in a state of surviving rather than thriving) and survival mode will never produce growth or change. Growth and change are necessary requirements for believers! 

               If small habits have the power to change your life in grand ways, then the opposite is true as well. They also have the power to keep you bound. It’s in the small things, the everyday thing, the no one is watching things, and the I’m not getting immediate gratification out of this things; where power is wielded to change us or not. If we don’t align our habits and everyday actions with our goals then we will just keep riding the roller coaster of failure around the mountain again and again. Don’t let 2025 be another trip around failure mountain. I have good news for you: 2025 is still new, you still have the opportunity for this to be a year of spiritual growth. There is still plenty of opportunity for change to take place. But you have to commit to staying committed.  Don’t let 2025 be the same as every other year that you committed to going deeper with God only to stop pursuing ten days into the year. 

I want to leave you with a few final thoughts:

• Before we ever had a to-do list or goals, He had a plan. Really pray and seek God for what He desires for you in 2025. Jeremiah 29:11-13, Proverbs 19:21

• Set big goals! But don’t be afraid to make a plan. Start small if you have to but start somewhere with a goal to reach in mind. Luke 16:10

• If you are full of doubt or fear don’t be afraid to ask God to give you a fresh perspective. Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 41:10

• Write your goals and plan down. Don’t be too hard on yourself but don’t let failure be the stopping point. Proverbs 29:18

• Stay inspired and finish strong Colossians 3:23, 1 Corinthians 15:58

               I am not here to argue the validity of new year's resolutions being okay for Christian’s or not. I am writing this to say don’t let the fear of failure or the pain of change keep you bound and unmoved this year. Dead things don’t grow, and stagnant things don’t produce life. Do you want growth in your spiritual life this year? I challenge you instead of building a coffin to lay down in defeat, get up and allow change to challenge you to a new place of growth.