New Year’s Resolutions 2022: Beyond willpower

Where will you find the strength to change this year?

Yesterday, I said the most important New Year's Resolution you could make is to GROW IN LOVE FOR GOD AND OTHERS.

Does that sound like an unreachable standard, a lofty resolution, an impossible goal? Where does that POWER to LOVE God and other people more come from?

Most often I think we’d say willpower. Motivational speakers talk a lot about...

Determination
Not giving up
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again
Nothing worth having comes easy
Have more willpower

But, willpower alone will never change us. That is a burden we can't carry. It's a standard we can't meet.

We need something to power our willpower!

What's going to power your willpower?

Have you ever thought like this:

I want to get fit....but I love feeling comfortable and sleeping
I love eating more than I love running
I want to do better at school ....but I love playing video games more
I want to get a job .... but I love the freedom to hang out with friends whenever I like

The truth is, if you want to change something, you have to love the change more than your current situation.

LOVE is the power that powers our WILLPOWER, because we become the things we love.

Of course...there are other factors involved in change. You also need to:

Know how to change
Believe you can change
Form habits and patterns to change
Choose to change.

But in the end you will work through those challenges if you really WANT to change.

It’s love that is the key to change. Love is the power that powers our willpower.

I was reading an article recently called, "Forget about feelings, real love is a deliberate choice." The writer concludes like this:

If you truly love someone (and they truly love you), commit to that love and plan on it being hard work. But also plan on it being the most rewarding work of your life.

The same is true of your relationship with God.