It’s a New Year. It’s a time to reboot your life. We do this in several ways. The most common is the old faithful “New Year’s Resolution.”  Resolutions can be anything from losing weight to paying off debt. Some may make a resolution to read the Bible through in a year. Others resolutions could be simply having a good and healthy year. Whatever your resolution is, it all starts with good intentions. However, most resolutions fail. Why is this? What gives us such zeal to begin only to fail in a few short weeks? I think the answer is this: Achievable goals.  I think we rush into commitments without a realistic approach to how we will accomplish our goals. I, for one, do the same. I dream big. I see what could be. I love to think about the end result. I get excited about my dreams. The bigger my dreams are the better. Then I make one crucial mistake. I try to make it happen all at once. I have no realistic approach to my venture. I end up failing and shrinking in the process. I’ve burnt myself many times on my overboard expectation. Through the years it has created a fear in me. That fear has kept me from trying new things and being innovative in ministry. Our youth group’s theme verse came out of my failures. This verse was not picked because of our ministry name: Fearless Student Ministry. It was picked so that I can constantly focus on God’s desire for me.

“For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.” –2 Timothy 1:7 (NET)

God has given us incredible power to achieve His will. With this power comes love and self-control. This verse also shows me why my goals have failed in the pass. If I’m not realistic about my goals, then I’m lacking self-control. If I lack self-control, my love, for which my goals were established, begins to diminish. The result is me not drawing on God’s power but my own.  My challenge to you and myself is to be realistic by drawing on God’s power, love and self-control so that you will not be fearful of failure. Happy New Year and God bless!