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"The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied . . . Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends are but shadows, but the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams. But God is the fountain. These are but drops; but God is the ocean.” Jonathan Edwards
Each New Year causes us to awaken ever so slightly to the passing whisper of our earthly years and to ask the question, “How can I enjoy life more?” This is the driving motivation behind most New Year’s resolutions that we make (and break) every January 1st . We certainly do not think that we should eat tofu, lift barbells or lose weight because we believe that these goals will make us LESS happy. While most resolutions are painful to live out, we believe that in the long run they will help us to enjoy life more fully. So we dream up lists of ways that will increase the quality of this year over last. I do not think that I have ever met a person who WANTED to be unhappy and set that as the goal for the coming year. Unhappiness is not that elusive. It does not merit pursuit for it is so easily found. But happiness is elusive in this world barred from Eden. Resolutions remind us that if we are to have happiness we must reach out for it. It does not fall into our laps.
Here is where most of our resolutions travel awry. The resolutions we make often have nothing to do with real happiness. They unravel into lists of self-improvement that serve in the end to remind us how weak and miserable we really are. In the best case scenario, we attain our goals only to discover that they did not deliver on their promise. The ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. So what should we do with these resolutions? Should we neglect them altogether? Should stop looking for improvement? Certainly not! But we should craft these New Year’s Resolutions with the Creator in mind. “The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.” So many of our resolutions grasp at the “shadows” without connecting to the “substance”. As you make your list of resolutions, think how those items will help you to enjoy God more this year. Connect their importance to Him. If one of my resolutions is to exercise 40 minutes each day, I need to ask myself, “How might this resolution help me enjoy God more?” For the Christian, this is the point behind each one of our hopes and goals. Otherwise these become but scattered beams. Our God is the shining sun.
Psalms 37:4-5 (NASB) "Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it."
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