Questions Before Resolutions

Everybody wants to be better at something.

I want to read more books. I want to run a marathon. I want to read the Bible in a year. I want to lose 10 pounds. I want to pray more. I want to build my business. I want to love my spouse better. I want to travel more. I want to be friendlier to my neighbors. I want to do family devotions every week. I want to stop biting my nails. The list goes on.

We make resolution after resolution, buy gimmick after gimmick. We follow whomever is doing whatever it is we think we want on whatever app we like the best. But unfortunately, we forget to ask ourselves the most fundamental question: why?

I can be kind to my neighbor just in case I ever need a favor from her. I can be a patient mom to feel better about myself. I can refrain from cutting people off in traffic in case I know them. I can make an incredible dinner so that everyone believes I’m skilled. I can lose weight so that I get positive attention. I can be nice so others will do what I want.

You see, we can do great things for wicked reasons. We can want the right things for the wrong reasons. Our resolutions tend to go by the wayside because the motivation for pure reasons only comes from the Holy Spirit. Righteous change, holy actions, good intentions, kind motivations, these good works flow only out of our perfect God (Jn 15:5).

This doesn’t mean we quit seeking improvement, embrace unhealthiness and stop being kind. It means we check ourselves first (Jer 17:9). As you make goals for the new year, here are some questions to ask first.

What do you want to change?

We can change our habits and bodies. We can work on weaknesses and attitudes. What are the places in your life that you need to work on, the places you are uncomfortable with or the things you don’t like? What are the shortcomings that hold you back or the sin that doesn’t go away? Where does your life lack? What behavior or parts of your lifestyle are hurting you?

Why do you want to change that?

The next question to ask is why. Why is this something you don’t like? Why do you want to change this? Why is this something you spend your time thinking about? Why do you think this part of your life is lacking? Why are you measuring yourself with this specific metric? The answer to why tells you what you’re really after (1 Sam 16:7). For instance, if I want to workout to get my cholesterol down and not be on medication to better steward my time and money for the glory of God, this is good! But, if I want to work out just to look better than other people because I’m vain, this is not good. You get the point.

What do you think you’ll get out of changing this area?

When we desire to change, it’s because we think it’ll be better once it’s different. If I read more books, I’ll be smarter. If I eat healthily, I’ll feel better. If I read the Bible more, I’ll be godlier. The benefit of changing is why I’m willing to do the work. However, am I trying to get something for myself apart from God? Am I seeking to be a god rather than reflect God? If the answer is yes, then we have failed to understand the fundamental ingredient for lasting change: Him.

How will you respond if you fail?

When I’m trying to develop new disciplines of thinking and doing, I should expect failure at some point. How I respond to failure tells me what my desires truly are. It reveals the genuine answer to “why.” If you fail and it makes you angry, your anger reveals what you’re wanting (James 4:2). If you’re doing it for reasons other than pleasing Jesus, then repentance is needed. If you fail and seek the Lord’s help in response, then humility grows. Failure is an opportunity for God to guide in what is right (Ps 25:9), to find wisdom (Prov 11:2), and to find God’s favor (Prov 3:34). A right perspective of God gives us a right perspective of ourselves, especially when we fail at what we set our minds to. If we have a wrong self-perception, it means we have a wrong God-perception.

How will you respond if you succeed?

How we respond when we succeed tells us just as much as when we fail. When we accomplish something that we really wanted to—something that challenged us—maybe something we didn’t know if we could do, do we become arrogant? Do we become know-it-alls? Do we flaunt it? Do we feel better because we look better? Are our feelings based on how well we do? If this is the case, success will be ungodly and possibly even short-lived. God shares his love with us, but he won’t share the credit for his glory (Is 42:8).

How do I sanctify my “why”?

How can I make sure my reason for change is a sanctified one? Only Jesus can sanctify our desires to grow and change. He is the most important part of any resolution. Want more daily time in God’s Word? Wonderful. Want more date nights? Good idea. Want to work out more? Have at it. But we must do this to the glory of God, not to the glory of ourselves. Pray and ask the Lord to help you (Ps 51:10). Next, seek accountability and be honest about selfish reasons with a friend who won’t shy away from speaking what’s true about you. Be ready to fail and prepare yourself for what to do when you falter. Be ready to succeed and to praise Jesus when he helps you.

If I know Jesus and I’m motivated out of holy conviction, then change will come as I succeed and fail. Both my successes and failures then point to him. If I know Jesus and I’m motivated to glorify him, then he will help me do that. If I know Jesus and I’m motivated out of sincere love for him, then I will confidently ask for his assistance to achieve what he wants of me (Ps 37:5).

Making a goal is only helpful in as much as you know why you’re making it. Is it to make yourself look more awesome? If you’re a Christian, God won’t allow you to succeed in making yourself great apart from him. What is certain is that he’ll sanctify you into the image of Christ (Phil 1:6). When you ask why and give a sincere answer, it’ll lead you to look more like Jesus . . . the one who considers others as more important than himself (Phil 2:3), while having perfect wisdom in how to use his gifts, his time and his body for the glory of God.

So before you make your resolutions, ask yourself why.

This article was originally posted at Gospel Taboo.

Everything is Going to be Okay

Knowing everything is going to be okay doesn’t make everything feel okay.

When we’re hurting and life is hard, when our circumstances don’t change and things don’t seem to go our way, hearing a shallow “everything is gonna be okay” can be hardly encouraging.

But,

everything really is going to be okay if you are a believer, follower and truster in Jesus.

Here’s how I know.

God Sees Everything

No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Heb 4:13

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Prov 15:3

God’s is always for us.

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:31b-32

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. Ps 18:30

God’s love will never leave us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? . . . For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 8:28-39

Only God works great miracles. God’s love never fails. With wisdom he made the sky. God’s love never fails. The Lord stretched the earth over the ocean. God’s love never fails. Ps 136:4-6

God is always with us.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me by night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. Ps 139:7-12

Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Ps 73:23-26

God’s plans cannot be messed up.

I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth, it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Is 55:10-11

God always does what is best.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Rom 8:32

For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Phil 2:13

God perfectly discerns all things.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.“ As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Is 55:8-9

Your knowledge is amazing to me; it is more than I can understand. Ps 139:6

God is making all things new.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Is 43:19

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also, he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Rev 21:5

Consider this as me writing it down, too. God is trustworthy and true. I may not understand everything in your life, in my own life or the life of my neighbor. I may not comprehend your suffering or the hardships around me, but this I know to be true: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end (Lam 3:22). I can’t see everything like he can. But one day, for the rest of eternity, everything will be made right.

So, for today, even if it doesn’t feel okay, because of who God is, everything will, in fact, be okay.

Questions for Reflection:

Do you feel hopeless in all things or in particular things?
How do these areas of hopelessness connect to the character of God?
In what ways do you disbelieve God’s perfect character?
Have you ever done an in depth study of God’s character?
How do these different aspects of who God is connect to your particular situation?
Answer this: If ______ is true about God, then ______ is true about your life.
Do you spend time actively praying like Jesus did?
How can you grow in your trust in God’s character?

This article was originally posted at Gospel Taboo.

Trusting God Without Reservation

When was the last time you heard a Christian actually admit, “I’m just not trusting God”?

“I’m trusting God” has become an answer to how we are doing when things get difficult. It’s a shallow way of answering ourselves and others because we cognitively know it’s right. More times than not, it takes hard experiences to show whether or not our trust is all that real. When death comes knocking, when people lie about us, when our abuser goes free, trusting God all the sudden feels foolish to our flesh.

When earthly circumstances control our trust in God, it reveals a superficial faith that rises and falls depending on the chaos of daily occurrences.

How do we ensure that our trust in God is solid? How do we prepare ourselves for the storms that will no doubt rage? And when we’re in the storm, how do we know if we’re really trusting God?

Believe God’s character to be true without reservation

Trusting God makes no sense apart from God’s perfect character. We trust him because we love him, and we love him if truly know him. To know him means dwelling on who he says that he is. He is perfect in wisdom (Rom 11:33), perfect in love (Jer 31:3), perfect in knowledge (1 Jn 3:20) and perfect in sovereignty (Prov 21:30). We prepare our trust for confusing hardship by learning about and meditating on the reality of God’s beautiful nature during peaceful times.

Reconcile God’s sovereignty with your pain without reservation.

When adversity strikes, it doesn’t land outside of his perfection (Ecc 7:14). Your heartache and God’s sovereignty go hand and hand (Is 55:8-9). Not because he wants you to feel pain, the cross proved that he takes our suffering on himself. But God will not stop at anything to transform his children into his own character. Sorrow creates a godly nature. Christians learn through trials. When we grieve and simultaneously run towards truth, it develops a Christlikeness that we will not otherwise have (James 1:4). God’s kind sovereignty creates holy depth and kind humility amidst personal affliction.

Know that Jesus is your Savior without reservation.

Our circumstances never change Jesus’ status as Savior. Or better yet, our status as being saved. The gospel is true no matter what. Jesus’ death on the cross is not moved by your lack of trusting God. Our sin is the reason for his sacrifice. To dwell on the good news of Jesus builds resilient faith. It reminds us that salvation has nothing to do with our finite selves and everything to do with our perfect Savior Jesus (Eph 2). No sin can change that. No earthly authority or power can change that. No disease can change that. No heartache can change that. Jesus is our Savior, period.

Know Jesus is your friend without reservation.

Jesus is also the friend that will never fail you (Jn 15:13). You can actively have faith by remembering he is your friend when others are not (Prov 18:24). He is your friend whether you’re homeless or you have all the money in the world. He is your friend whether you succeed or whether you fail. He is your friend when others judge you and seek to harm you (Rom 8). Jesus is always praying on your behalf (Heb 7:25). Jesus is always with you (Is 41:10).

Pray without reservation.

Once you ardently seek to believe that God is good, prayer will come to life (Ps 32:6). We can pray for what God wants us to have with utter certainty (Matt 6:8). We can pray for help knowing he will give it (James 1:5). We can pray for a changed heart knowing that he will change us (Matt 7:7). We can pray for grace knowing that he will offer it (Heb 4:16). We can pray for strength knowing that he’ll deliver us (Ps 34:4). We pray expectantly and without reservation because he wants us to have the very thing we are praying for more than we even do (Ps 85:12). When our children ask for whatever we already want to give them, it brings us joy. God finds joy in us praying for what we need in order to please him (Ps 9:10). When we pray, we find peace without reservation (Prov 3:5).

Trusting God without reservation isn’t just an idea to think about, it’s a dynamic understanding of who God is, the things that he has done and the kind of Father who loves answering his children’s prayers. It takes work to keep our hearts from drifting toward false ideas or images of God. My circumstances tell me not to trust a God I can’t see, but the Bible tells me I have a God whose love I cannot be separated from (Rom 8:31-38). It tells me that his will is perfect and that he uses pain to get me ready to be the heavenly human I will become after death (James 1:3-4).

Trusting God isn’t just a good idea with right theology. Trusting God is a person to know, a God to seek and an action to do.

Recommended resources for further study:

Trusting God by Jerry Bridges

Knowing God by J.I. Packer

The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

Lord, Teach Us to Pray by Andrew Murray

This article was originally posted at Gospel Taboo.

The Blessings of Repentance

Confessing the depth of one’s own personal depravity is hardly fun. Authentic confession, the admittance of sin, requires humble recognition of deeply rooted corruption inside us. The next step is even harder. Repentance, the turning away from admitted sin, requires the power of God to obey and be transformed into Christlikeness. These processes undress the soul to reveal our blasphemy against a loving God. Who wants to experience that?

It makes logical sense that we would be terrified to confess and repent of our sin.

What will people think? Can I bear the consequences? What will happen if I do? What will my confession destroy? What will I lose? Will it kill me?

But Jesus threw a loving wrench into the reality of our flesh.

Afraid of a Lie

The practical consequences of sin vary. But sin, no matter what kind, produces spiritual death (James 1:15). If you’re a Christian, the death your sin brings forth was put on Jesus (1 Pet 3:18). Death’s sting has been taken by your Savior (1 Cor 15:55). Jesus’ death means our fearful confessions can turn to joyful gratefulness and repentance into a Christian privilege.

To be afraid of confession and repentance is to believe Satan’s lie that it will kill you. Truth be told, genuine confession and repentance kill only the parts of us that need to die: the sinful parts Jesus died to destroy (Gal 2:20).

Sin produces death; but repentance always produces life (2 Cor 7:10).

The lie says that if we cover up our sin, if we refrain from seeing our wickedness, then we can preserve ourselves into happiness. But God offers something different, something glorious. He gives astonishing things in exchange for our willingness to confess and repent.

Here are five things we can look forward to when we are willing to trust his goodness and confess and repent of our sin.

1. Repentance brings freedom.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Gal 5:1

It is for freedom that Christ died on our behalf. He didn’t die so we would be scared to repent, he died so that we would be free to repent and in doing so, experience freedom in him. Freedom in Christ brings a confidence and certainty you won’t find anywhere else. Freedom to fail. Freedom to not be perfect. Freedom to grow. Jesus took God's wrath for your freedom to repent.

2. Repentance brings joy.

Let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Ps 51:8

It’s no secret that repentance is humbling; it can be crushing. It’s painful to witness the reality of hell settled inside our very own flesh. But, within that same reality lies the joy of having a Savior who provides everything we need to find utter happiness. Repentance brings joy because it relieves the pressure of impossible perfection and change on our own. We need Jesus. Repentance gives us Jesus. Jesus who loves and cares for us perfectly. In his arms, we are completely safe. Joy is never found in covering sin; joy is only found in the righteousness of God—in Jesus. But we must admit our need. When we fear repentance, we’re missing out on true joy.

3. Repentance brings pleasure.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Ps 16:11

Ultimate gratification is knowing the Person who said, “his sin or her sin—I’ll suffer for it and give them holiness instead.” Pleasure is found in Christ because he is the human manifestation of God’s love. Repentance brings us to the throne of our loving God with the cloak of Christ’s righteousness. When we’re in the presence of God we’ll experience love like never before. This perfect love is ultimate pleasure.

4. Repentance brings hope.

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Rom 5:5

Hope is fulfilled when reality turns out to be better than it feels. God doesn’t leave us to ourselves. He not only gives us Jesus, but his Spirit to experience all these things. When the Spirit of God helps us repent, receive God’s forgiveness, and help to actually change, our reality shifts to be full of God’s hope. Hope in God never disappoints because he’s not capable of letting anyone down. His promises never fail. He never chooses wrongly. He always does what is good. God never fails, which means our repentance brings hope in a person that won’t leave or forsake us.

5. Repentance brings goodness.

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Ps 145:9

To receive God’s goodness is to have his full compassion. He is kind-hearted towards his children because he knows that we’re dust (Ps 103:14). Our sin doesn’t surprise God. Our lack of contrition doesn’t throw him off. He knows the depths of our depravity and the totality of our need . . . and he stores up good for those who take refuge in him (Ps 31:19). When we seek genuine forgiveness from God and those whom we sin against, we are actively taking refuge in a God who knows the depth of our sinful intricacies and still, at the right time, died for us (Rom 5:3). To repent is to recognize God’s goodness and to receive it at the most basic level.

We don’t need fear in repentance because God loves perfectly (1 Jn 4:18). Christians receive what’s good when we endure pain, even the pain of our own sin. It’s not an even, quick swap. God doesn’t just wash away our suffering, he redeems it. This means repentance, though for a moment painful, produces an eternity of freedom, joy, pleasure, hope and goodness. Be free, Christian. Repent without fear, what you will get in exchange is far better than anything you could hope or imagine (Eph 3:20).

Questions for Reflection:

How does the gospel free you from fear of confession?
How does Christ’s death on the cross free you from fear of repentance?
What are you most fearful of in admitting your sin?
Knowing the answer to question #3 likely takes precedent over Christ, have you asked God for help?
What are some areas you refrain from thinking on your sinfulness out of fear of confession?
Have you spent time meditating on the truths of joy, freedom, pleasure, hope and goodness in Christ?
Sorrow in repentance can be appropriate, but after that, joy follows. Do you spend enough time thinking on Christ's sacrifice for your sin that you feel and know the joy he brings?
Do you punish others for their sin, or do you fight for their freedom in Christ as well?
Are you gracious when others repent, knowing Christ’s sacrifice is abounding for all?
In what ways have you failed to see God’s kindness in the transformation he’s done in your life as you seek repentance?

This article was originally posted by the author on gospeltaboo.com.