New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions are made every year. My best guess, after going to crowded gyms in January and February, is that working out more and losing weight are at the top of the list. But when March comes around, the gyms are back to normal. I wonder why it’s so hard for us to keep our resolutions?

I received a clear revelation of the answer to my own personal struggle many years ago. When I became a Christian at 26, I wanted to quit smoking cigarettes, a habit I started at 19. I became convicted that ingesting tobacco wasn’t good for me, and I also believed God didn’t want me to smoke. Besides, none of my new Christian friends smoked, and I felt like an outsider. Every New Year’s that followed, I’d quit smoking, only to fail. I would quit and go back. Quit and go back. The quitting usually didn’t last very long.

After many failed attempts over the course of seven years, I couldn’t understand why I failed as a Christian to conquer this addiction. After all, I had prayed about it for years, and even asked others to pray for me. Most of all, as a Christian who believes the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of us, I had the power of God living inside of me. I was puzzled that my attempts had been so futile.

One day I asked God why I hadn’t succeeded. I didn’t hear an audible response, but the thought entered my mind, “Because you aren’t really willing to give them up.” I knew that thought wasn’t from me, but from God. And I also knew it was correct.

Ever since I was nineteen, those cigarettes were my crutch. They calmed me down. They were a physiological addiction, an habitual addiction, and an emotional addiction. I changed my prayer. “Dear God, please help me to be willing to give up cigarettes.” The next day I threw out my cigarettes and the detoxification began with success.

Two weeks later, I met the man I would eventually end up marrying after seven years of praying for a spouse. It wasn’t long after we started dating that I found out he never dated women who smoked! We’ve now been married for thirty years.

Had I not quit smoking when I did, my destiny would have not been fulfilled. I still have no desire to smoke, and I can’t even stand the smell of cigarettes.

God says, “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” When the Holy Spirit convicts us that we need to give up an addiction, it’s in our own best interest. I’m so glad I listened to that still small voice and asked God to help me be willing. I feel it’s one of my greatest personal accomplishments, achieved with the help of my Heavenly Father.