2024--Here We Go

December 29th, 2023

Has this past year gone quickly for you? Are you glad to have it behind you, or is the thought of beginning a new year a little daunting right now? Regardless of where you find yourself, we invite you to join Gabby Terry today in considering the most important aspects of beginning again and being successful with your goals.

For some people, the new year brings excitement and a fresh start. Others who don’t like change or dealing with the unknown approach the new year with feelings of dread. Personally, I am not a fan of January 1 because the weather here in Georgia is usually dark and dreary. However, I do enjoy setting goals for myself to pursue each year when the calendar begins again. This year, I thought it best to prayerfully consider what God would find honoring in my New Year's resolutions.

Interesting to note is that many people set similar goals for themselves each January—losing weight is a big one. Other aspirations might include managing money better, reading your Bible more, going to church more, or even effectively expressing yourself more. Honestly, my goals do not stray too far from this list, and perhaps yours don’t either. Unfortunately, more often than not, New Year’s resolutions are quickly broken and abandoned. Why? Most of the time, it can be attributed to a lack of proper motivation and preparation.

Sadly, our desires for our resolutions tend to be selfish: we want to lose weight for vanity; we want more money to fulfill personal desires; we want to read our Bible more because that’s what “good” Christians do; we want to go to church more to be “seen” by others; we want to express ourselves more in pursuit of our own happiness. But what does God desire for us? That should be the drive behind our motivation.

To start off with the most common resolution, we need to keep weight loss/exercise in perspective. Maybe your goal isn’t to lose weight but to log more hours in the gym to keep up an appearance. As 1 Timothy 4:8 says, “For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” I hate to break it to the fitness influencers out there, but your body fat percentage and muscle mass won’t get you or others into heaven—unless you’re evangelizing to your gym mates, then carry on!

Ask yourself this question:
Am I doing this to advance myself or advance the Kingdom of God?

God calls us to honor our body as a temple. I wrote a whole blog on how to do that if you’re interested! (Click HERE to catch up on that topic.) The point I’m trying to make is this: Honor your body to keep it healthy and in good shape to carry out God’s will for your life. Obsessing over your body composition for your own vanity is not the focus you should be having. This same sentiment should carry over to all your resolutions.

Read your Bible to learn more about your Heavenly Father.
Share your money to help those in need.
Go to church to build a strong community with other believers and express the character of God over your own.

Ask yourself this question: Am I doing this to advance myself or advance the Kingdom of God? The proper motivation you need for successful New Year's resolutions is to make God the center of them.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Spend some time in prayer and ask God for wisdom on what goals to set and how to carry them out. Then, fully rely upon God to see them through. Trust that God is right there beside you. Allow your failures to motivate you to keep going instead of withdrawing into defeat. You have the Creator of the cosmos as your support!

For face-to-face support, find yourself an accountability partner. This next statement may sound cliché, but it is backed by research and very true: Having someone who knows what you’re supposed to be doing and is helping you stay on track will increase your chances of success. As someone who has tried and failed to accomplish goals without a partner, I know.

Lastly and most importantly, give God the glory in and for everything you accomplish. Start each day with prayer and gratitude to God and allow Him to walk with you throughout the day.

Psalm 37:5–6
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

Happy New Year from Gabby and the rest of the RforH team!

Author Bio:
Howdy! My name is Gabrielle Terry, but you can call me Gabby. My husband, Riley, and I (married since October 2022) live in the beautiful state of Georgia! Currently, I am the youngest person on staff at Reasons for Hope, and most of the time, you will see me on the streets with a microphone in my hand doing Mic’dUP interviews. I also help teach youth groups to go out and evangelize through Mic’dUP!

Besides evangelism, I greatly admire how God designed our bodies and what we can do to support them. I wanted to be able to help others learn this information, so I became a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. Now, I can help people understand the foundations of what our body needs to thrive through holistic practices with a Christian perspective. If you want more information on what I do as an NTP, please email me at gabrielleterry@rforh.com.

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