It’s that time of year again! You know, the time when we look back at all the things that happened this past year and think about what we did right, what we did wrong and what we could do better in the coming year. This is the time many of us make new year’s resolutions. Wikipedia defines a new year’s resolution as when a person resolves to continue good practices, change an undesired trait or behavior, accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve their behavior at the beginning of the year. Improving overall physical health including exercising, eating better, and losing weight and better financial health including saving money and spending less are by far the most popular resolutions in the U.S. Getting organized, spending time with friends and family and traveling more, were among the top ten. Yet from the Christian perspective, what does this mean for us? What does the Bible have to say about this?

In the Old Testament, the Jewish people had multiple “new year’s”. The first new year is found in Exodus 12:2 when God said, “This month shall be the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you”. That was for them the beginning of the calendar year like January is for us. It occurs during our March or April. It was the beginning of a new life for them, so God started a new calendar. That sounds a little familiar. The Jewish people have another new year found in Leviticus 23:23-25 they call it Rosh Hashanah which means “head of the year”. It occurs during our September or October. They call this their civil new year. Why do they have multiple new years? It is like January being the beginning of the calendar year and August being the beginning of the school year or how some companies have a fiscal year that starts in July like the City of Springfield. Rosh Hashanah is the first day of the seventh calendar month called Tishri. From then until the tenth day of the month they were to do no work, but instead they were to think about the last year and fast, pray, meditate, and repent. On the tenth day of that month is the Day of Atonement called Yom Kippur. On this day the High Priest could go into the Most Holy Place and offer sacrifices for the sins of the nation. This sacrifice allowed the nation to start the new year fresh and free from sin. We should learn from this example, if you decide to make a New Year’s Resolution, take time to fast and pray, seek forgiveness from God and man and resolve to be better in the coming year.

Statistics say that almost 40% of people in the U.S. make a resolution and 23% of those people have quit in the first week. By February that number rises to 64%. By the end of the year only 9% of people kept their resolution all year. Christians are not immune to this. To read your Bible, fast and pray more are great goals, but if we don’t put God as the reason and motivation for doing this we will fail also.  Ecclesiastes 5:5 says, “Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay”. It is good to want to be and do better but don’t make a promise (vow) that you can’t keep. James 4:15 says “For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that”. We should always seek the Lord’s will and in all our ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct our paths. Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: But the Lord directeth his steps”. We should ask God what our goals should be for the new year and let Him guide our hearts. In conclusion, if we want to reach our goals for the new year we should take the advice God gave Joshua after the death of Moses, “this book of the law (the Bible) shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success”(Joshua 1:8). To have good success and be included in the 9% of people who keep their resolutions all year, stay in God’s word and seek His will for your life. I pray you have a blessed and prosperous new year!!!

written by Miguel Harrison, Sunday School Teacher and Worship Leader