Resolutions for the Soul

It’s that time of year again. 2018 will soon pass away tomorrow night and a new year will begin. It’s important to take stock of what has happened this past year, reflect on it, and give thanks to God for all he has done.

We all have resolutions, no matter the time of year. We bring them up because we see the opportunity at an arbitrary time to change something about us. We all have seen it or done it, and we can all think of at least one of these things that we have attempted in the past: exercise, diet, weight loss, muscle gain, mindfulness, material organization, time management, journaling, spending time in prayer, spending time with family, going on and sticking to a budget, getting better grades in school.

No matter what we strive for, each of these areas are ways in which we feel like we can get better. This is such an important aspect to being human, because if you ask yourself, (“Am I satisfied with who I am today?”) you’ll know the answer is no. When we ask that question and answer it truthfully, we can count out the areas we want to improve.

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards

One of the most famous lists of resolutions was written by Pastor and theologian, Jonathan Edwards. Edwards is famous for many things, and his list of SEVENTY resolutions is one of them. I’m not sure I could tell you much about what happened in the last 70 hours, let alone come up with 70 different resolutions. Edwards’ resolutions are very pious and spiritually healthy, but his 18th century Puritan context had much to do with his list. He focuses on a few different categories, including but not limited to relationships, time management, good works, and character.

I would encourage you to do a quick google search “Jonathan Edwards Resolutions” and you will find a few comprehensive lists. Reading them may give you inspiration on areas in your life you’d like to see grow.

But we aren’t going to focus on these today, I’d like us to dive into the Scripture together after we answer the question: What is a resolution?

What is a resolution?

Resolution - A decision to do something or behave in a certain manner

We often make these decisions or behavior changes because we want to see the better side of ourselves. We also crave that feeling of satisfaction: “I did it.” We love the opportunity to show others our strength (have you ever seen my instagram stories?), endurance, perseverance, or fortitude. Perhaps we even want to show ourselves we can do it so that we feel stronger and more prepared for what lies ahead. Regardless of the purpose or drive behind it, Scripture points out that it isn’t always about what we can do. Spiritually, it’s got NOTHING to do with what we can do. Our hope lies in Christ and Him crucified, not in our ability to please Him with attending church, reading our Bibles, or praying eloquently. Jesus knows that life is a heavy, hard thing that we all tackle; He also knows that we are going to need help from Him along the way. Let’s see what Jesus says here in these 4 short verses.

It’s that time

1:27-30

Matthew 11:27–30 ESV

All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Our focus on these verses will be looking into coming to Jesus, who promises to make lighter for us the burdens of life. How desperately we need Jesus to make light the burdens of life. The burden of achievement, self-help, or self-improvement can be one of the heaviest and most debilitating, since it has an arbitrary goal attached to it and an imperfect judge. If you’re working hard at improving your life and being better, great! Keep going! It is never a weakness to gain strength! But even if you are in the stage where your improvement continues, know that there will be valleys to accompany the victories. Life, stained by our sin and the sin of others, will never be perfect before we die and receive our reward of life with Christ.

One of the biggest pressures we have for improvement and growth is in our spiritual walk. I love what this text is saying about how it’s all about the grace of Jesus that makes life lighter and easier. There is a specific way that this has been paraphrased that I would like to share with you. The Late Dr. Eugene Peterson wrote a paraphrase of the Bible called The Message to help people understand Scripture better - it serves as a good compliment to Scripture, and I’d love to share his thoughts on these few verses.

The Message Chapter 11

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

This is one of the most interesting reads to me. As we reflect on the close of 2018, it’s time for us to take stock how our souls are doing: am I worn out? Tired? Am I burned out on religion? These are such important questions to ask. When we have to truthfully answer yes to any or all of these questions, we need to seek the solution. So much of the world is seeking for solutions to its problems, often looking “Within.” For true peace and rest, the solution is not from within, it’s about allowing Christ to take control of your life and let His burden be our burden. His burden is light because He’s not stressed about all the details, He’s got it under control.

Let’s go back verse 28 and see again what he’s telling us

Matthew 11:28 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

That leads me to my first resolution for you this year.

Resolve to Rest in Christ

This is such an important theme in this passage. Now it’s important to see that the rest that Jesus is describing is not an idle rest; it’s an opportunity to ease the load of our responsibilities. Let’s look at verse 29 at what it says

Matthew 11:29 ESV

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Jesus here is saying to take His yoke. That is, to continue to do the work of your life and continue in your efforts, but with a different pressure, a different mentality, and a different goal. The goal for our betterment is not some self satisfaction, it’s an opportunity for us to become more like Christ and be a better witness for Him.

Let me bring us back to the paraphrase from Dr. Peterson:

Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it.

Hopefully this helps us better understand our responsibilities a bit better. We walk alongside the Lord in our lives, working, moving, and changing for a life that best reflects his grace and goodness. It bears out the wonderful gift of eternal life we have been given.

Perhaps you’re the type of person who likes to go it alone or do it all yourself - when it comes to some things, I know that’s a big part of who I am. But Jesus here is calling us to himself, saying that it’s not about us and it doesn’t really depend on us.

Now we’ve seen that we need to rest, let’s reflect on what we need to do next.

Resolve to Remember the unforced rhythms of grace

I love this phrase, the rhythms of grace. It’s a wonderful way to phrase it, because it points to the mercies of God that renew every morning. What an important part of our spiritual walk with God through life that we experience the rhythms of grace. When we make a new years’ resolution, we never accomplish our desired outcome or goal in that first few days, we do it with the rhythmic intentionality of our purpose. If I’m to gain muscle, going to the gym every day for 3 weeks and lifting weights will be beneficial in the short term, but will mean very little if I don’t continue to train and grow. Our experiences with God often ebb and flow based on our times that we have with him, we too often depend on big experiences to move us along in our relationship with him.

Another important word in this phrase is “unforced.” How amazing to think of not trying to force ourselves to be more this or that. So often our attempts at improvement are short-lived because we are trying to force ourselves to be someone or do something for which we are not ready. With God, He never forces us to be something we aren’t but meets us where we are, forgives us of our sins, and calls into living a new life; God knows we won’t be perfect, but he loves us anyway.

So as we remember to rest and experience the rhythms of grace, let’s take a look at a practical approach to accomplishing our personal and spiritual goals. This comes from the apostle Paul in

Romans 12:2 ESV

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

This verse leads me to my final point. As you seek to be resolved to new life and new hope in 2019…

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Resolve to Renew your mind

This verse encapsulates the Christian approach to living a life that is honoring to God and an improvement in who we want to be.

Don’t be conformed to this world

Be transformed by the renewal of your mind

Testing will help us see the will of God

Closing

Closing