Success In The New Year

by HJS

Another Year is almost upon us. How has this past year treated you? Would you consider yourself to have been successful? Or would you rate it as one of the worst of your life?

I would like to share with you three guidelines to turning this past year's hardships into a stepping-stone for next year's accomplishment. They are devotion, discipline and determination.

First - devotion to God's purpose and will for your life. John said, "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well" (3 John 2). Just as that is my personal desire for my children, so I am convinced it is God's desire for His children.

Before us is a new year unencumbered by yesterday's losses, mistakes and failures. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed," wrote Jeremiah the prophet, "because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV). Make a fresh commitment to God's will for your life, realizing that life's greatest blessing comes from being in His will.

The second guideline is discipline, not the kind that corrects others, but the kind that corrects yourself. What caused you difficulty this past year? Pride? Stubbornness? Rebellion? Deceit? It is possible that you will take into your marriage or your next job the same personality traits or seeds of failure that resulted in difficulty this past year unless you discipline yourself against these.

Finally, practice determination. The real test of your character is what it takes to stop you. Find out which direction God is sending you, and go with God. This new year can be an exciting adventure.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.   Philippians 3:10