Every Good Resolve
Every Good Resolve
Here is a great prayer for the new year: “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” II Thess 1:11,12
What a great prayer to pray for yourself and for your loved ones. To care enough for others, that your greatest desire for them is that God would continue to make them worthy of their salvation is a great work of God in your life. That God would continue to do the work of sanctification in their lives is a loving prayer. It is a good thing to pray that every work of faith that they set out to do this year would be full of the power of God. All so that Jesus would be glorified in and through them this coming year.
The phrase I became stuck on this morning was the middle phrase, “may fulfill every resolve for good”. Paul not only prays that God will continue to change his loved ones into the image of Jesus, he not only prays for their ministries of faith, but he prays that every desire they have to be or do good would be fulfilled by God. If you stop and think about it, this is beyond encouraging. Paul is not only praying for those decisions we make but also for those desires we often have that never seem to make it to reality. Those good things that are on our hearts and minds but, often times, do not seem to make it to the reality of our lives. He is praying that God would fulfill those by his power. That this would be the year that those resolves become a reality.
Are there things in your life that you have found yourself resolving to do, but they never quite seem to come to fruition in your life? They are good resolves. Resolves of self discipline or resolves of steps of faith that you find are often on your heart but that is where they stay...on your heart. This is the year that I will… and it never seems to happen. You just can’t seem to be able to go from desire to action. Paul prays, that by the power of God, that he might fulfill those resolves of your heart. That this might be the year that, by God’s power, your desires become a reality in your life.
I know that we are trained that if you desire something then you need to go for it. You cannot hold back in fear or laziness. We are taught that we are often our own worse enemy. I agree with much of that, and I do not want to give excuses, but there are things that God lays on our hearts that we must wait for his timing to fulfill. After all, he is the one who is doing the good work in our lives. So we desire to be more or we desire to do something and yet, this is not the time that God chooses to fulfill that desire. So we resolve and we wait for the power of God to do what he alone can do. I am praying with you that this is the year that God fulfills those kinds of resolves. That those good things, that God has laid upon your heart, become a reality by his power this year. In the meantime, do not be discouraged by those resolves but see that, even those desires, are part of the process of sanctification and thus, they too, are a work of God on your heart.
Here is a great prayer for the new year: “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” II Thess 1:11,12
What a great prayer to pray for yourself and for your loved ones. To care enough for others, that your greatest desire for them is that God would continue to make them worthy of their salvation is a great work of God in your life. That God would continue to do the work of sanctification in their lives is a loving prayer. It is a good thing to pray that every work of faith that they set out to do this year would be full of the power of God. All so that Jesus would be glorified in and through them this coming year.
The phrase I became stuck on this morning was the middle phrase, “may fulfill every resolve for good”. Paul not only prays that God will continue to change his loved ones into the image of Jesus, he not only prays for their ministries of faith, but he prays that every desire they have to be or do good would be fulfilled by God. If you stop and think about it, this is beyond encouraging. Paul is not only praying for those decisions we make but also for those desires we often have that never seem to make it to reality. Those good things that are on our hearts and minds but, often times, do not seem to make it to the reality of our lives. He is praying that God would fulfill those by his power. That this would be the year that those resolves become a reality.
Are there things in your life that you have found yourself resolving to do, but they never quite seem to come to fruition in your life? They are good resolves. Resolves of self discipline or resolves of steps of faith that you find are often on your heart but that is where they stay...on your heart. This is the year that I will… and it never seems to happen. You just can’t seem to be able to go from desire to action. Paul prays, that by the power of God, that he might fulfill those resolves of your heart. That this might be the year that, by God’s power, your desires become a reality in your life.
I know that we are trained that if you desire something then you need to go for it. You cannot hold back in fear or laziness. We are taught that we are often our own worse enemy. I agree with much of that, and I do not want to give excuses, but there are things that God lays on our hearts that we must wait for his timing to fulfill. After all, he is the one who is doing the good work in our lives. So we desire to be more or we desire to do something and yet, this is not the time that God chooses to fulfill that desire. So we resolve and we wait for the power of God to do what he alone can do. I am praying with you that this is the year that God fulfills those kinds of resolves. That those good things, that God has laid upon your heart, become a reality by his power this year. In the meantime, do not be discouraged by those resolves but see that, even those desires, are part of the process of sanctification and thus, they too, are a work of God on your heart.
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