New Year, New You, Same Jesus

Year after year after year, we make resolutions for the upcoming New Year that we are determined to keep—especially when it comes to weight and wallets. We make promises to our bodies to sweat like pigs in order to take on the transformation of a hot fox. And then there’s the promise we make to our wallets. Unless it’s a live or die matter, we make the oath to stop splurging and start saving. But then we wake up incredibly sore and way too lazy a few days later to take on the gym, which usually results in not going back for at least a week. In addition, something (or many things for the matter) will come along and catch our eye that isn't dire or necessary, but we buy it anyway because it makes us happy. Our happiness and satisfaction results in failure, and then we decide to do better once the next New Year rolls around. The process tends to repeat itself year after year after year.

Have you noticed? Have you ever wondered why?

Here’s a hunch: Maybe it’s because we spend way too much time fixing ourselves to be appealing to the society that constantly feeds us the lie of what self worth, beauty, and “living the life” actually are. We want to be accepted. And, as a result of this, we focus too much on bettering ourselves in the wrong ways. In other words, time becomes wasted because we are longing to live for the wrong reasons.

What if this year we all focused on retaining the mold that our Maker sculpted us into? What if we spent time renewing our minds, our hearts, and the entirety of who we are on the One who creatively created each and every one us? What if we lived our lives according to the desires He has for us? Would life get easier? Maybe not, but it would most certainly be a life worth living. When you nourish your heart according to God’s desires for you, an inexpressible joy is received. Such joy can only come from the one Who you have given your heart to.

You need to know something. Regardless of who you are, what you've done, or where you've been, you are accepted. There is absolutely nothing that you can say or do that could ever change this. You see, there’s this thing called grace and it’s given to us- freely and daily. When our hearts are set on looking “the right way” or owning the latest trends, we swallow the lie that society enjoys feeding us. Our appetites for such things grow all the more as we believe that an earthly life full of selfish desires is the lifestyle that we comfortably continue to pursue. We fail ourselves because we have allowed our focus to shift on the wrong things.

Ladies, your value and self worth are found in the eyes of the King. Who you are is seen through the ways in which your serve Him and exhibit Who it is that your heart truly belongs to. Can you see where I’m going with this? Our resolutions fail because they’re selfish.

We choose to pursue the desires that we have for ourselves rather than the desires that God has for us. Our resolutions fail because they are ours and not His.

I want to challenge you to do something. Take a look at your so-called resolutions and reevaluate. Are your resolutions things that will help equip you to be a better disciple? Will they help you become a clearer reflection of Jesus Christ? Are your resolutions longings for the desires that God has for you or are they longings for the desires that you have for yourself?

Whatever your resolutions may be, my prayer for you is that they are things that will help get you to where you need to be; things that will help you become a better leader for those around you; things that will help you become a better you- the you that God creatively created you to be. Take His hand and let Him lead you down the path He has laid out for you.

Rethink your resolutions. Rewrite your resolutions, and then start living them. 

You are loved and cherished in so many ways by our Heavenly Father. The only longing that God has for you is that you have an equal longing for Him. He desires a relationship with you. We are perfectly imperfect, yet still so incredibly beautiful and flawless in the eyes of the King. Let God romanticize and cherish you while you do the same for Him. There is nothing more beautiful and meaningful than experiencing the overwhelming joy of being loved in an unfathomable way. True happiness and satisfaction of our lives remain in the hands of the One who can only provide those things. 

Know who you are and Whose you are.

Nourish your heart with His goodness. And whatever you may do, or whatever year it may be, never forget that God knows your heart more than anyone ever could- including yourself. He has loved you from the very start, and He will love you for the rest of eternity.

Take on the New Year with an open heart and walk forward in His righteousness.

Who knows...with all of these things in mind, this might just be the best year of your God-given life.

A life with God is the only life worth living.

So what are you waiting for?

Let’s live it.

About the Author :

Emily Townsend is a 20 year old southern girl who has a heart for loving Jesus, loving others, and serving the world. She is currently pursuing a career in ministry as she continues to fall madly in love with Jesus by the day. Emily is also obsessed with books, coffee, koalas, Pinterest, Pilates, and weddings. Her daily dose of life consists of a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus. You can also find her blogging on her personal blog The Joy of My Joy.

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