Just like that it is 2023. Feels like only 1 to 8 years ago it was 2019, and the world was full of the usual promise. There are times that we wake up and start wondering where the time all went. You have memories and experiences and feelings about your history. It definitely happened. You were definitely there. Unless you pass through an inflection point (think big change: a birth, death, marriage, move, etc.) it’s easy to just cruise through checking the boxes of existing. I went to work. I paid my bills. I sent that birthday card.

In our lives, nothing ever changes unless we decide to make a change. Certain things might be written into your genetic code like your height, your eye color, or your risk for certain diseases, but in everything else you have a say. It may not be easy; in fact, some changes will take a monumental effort on your part. In the end though, every day you put in the effort puts you one day closer to reaching your goal.

The joy and inspiration we have is that we don’t need to put in this effort alone. The writer of Hebrews 13:8-9 tells us, “8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.” We have a God who wants to see you be successful in the places where you put your effort.

We can grow and succeed, but we are also allowed to have bad days. We are allowed to fall short because we have God whose love is unchanging. When you take five steps towards your goal, God loves you. When you take two steps forward and three steps back, God loves you. When you feel like you’ve failed completely and need to start from scratch again, God loves you.

God’s love for you is unchanging. Since God is unchanging that means you can change. Pick a goal for 2023 change yourself for the better, even if it is hard.

Become resolute.