Resolution Evaluation

 

At the beginning of the year, as usual

Like the traditional New Year people,

You made some critical resolutions

Hoping this time for some execution.

“How are they going?” I would want to ask,

“So far this year are you still on task?

Or, like the other years, have you forgotten

And those resolutions like fruit now rotten?”

I have no doubt that you had good intent

And that what you said you meant

But it is so hard to change a bad habit

And in any case you can’t do without it.

But why is it so difficult to change?

How can I have my life rearranged?

I am tired of what I do; I really am

But I never commit to my New Year plan.

Is it because you follow the tradition

When you make New Year resolutions?

Or do you really want to curb what you do

But don’t have the courage to see it through?

How long does it take before you fail?

What’s the longest that you have prevailed?

A week, a month or maybe half the year

Before all your resolutions just disappeared?

Was it the nature of the thing you tried?

Was it someone that you couldn’t deny?

Was the ideal too lofty and too high

Presenting you with odds you couldn’t defy?

Is it something that is wrecking your life?

Is it a practice that is causing you strife?

What would it cost you if with it you part?

How much does it really affect your heart?

Is it more important to you than your soul?

Is it hindering Jesus from making you whole?

If the answer to the last two questions is yes

You would always be failing the test.

  

Without Jesus our resolutions will fail,

All our bad habits will continually prevail,

In us is no lasting facility to change

Even those things we think we can rearrange.

Lasting change require a change of heart

Jesus must be on board from the very start,

His involvement is the fundamental principle

Any other support is merely superficial.

Making resolutions without Christ on board

Is like buying the most expensive car you can afford

Only to realize that the manufacturer’s guarantee

Is dependent on your very limited ability.

It is through our extremely limited facility

That we experience the power of God Almighty

To make the seeming impossible possible;

After all He is the architect of all miracles.

With that fundamental principle in its place

Let us now the chief resolution trace

The miracle of salvation by faith in God’s grace

That enables us to make that turn about face.

That is the resolution of all resolutions,

The one that should really occupy our attention,

Without this the rest are doomed to fail

And in no time at all our best efforts will derail.

Another matter of great importance here;

Resolutions can be made at anytime of the year,

The most opportune time is when you become aware

That is the time to put your resolution in gear.

Have you failed in your resolution thus far?

Don’t wait for a New Year to come on par,

Commit to Christ all that concerns you today

And he will bring it to pass in his own way.

While it is true resolution evaluation is a must

It can be accomplished without all the fuss,

In your ability you won’t even penetrate the crust

But success will be yours if in Christ you trust.

Stewart Russell © 2017