Every New Year is approached with new hopes, new dreams, new goals, new aspirations, and new expectations. And with every New Year comes new resolutions and commitments. You may or may not know that New Year’s resolutions have been around since the time of the Romans (153 B.C.), but you surely know the top two resolutions have been around almost as long: losing weight and getting in shape (for those who consider “round” a shape, these two resolutions don’t apply).
While losing weight and getting in shape can improve one’s health, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee a healthier body. Other factors such as emotional and spiritual well-being have to be considered, as both affect how a person views life and reacts to various circumstances. One example of these two factors working together can be evidenced in the areas of worry and faith. Worry can cause multiple health issues while faith can bring unexplainable peace and calm to a situation. Faith then would supply the emotional/spiritual support that would allow one to not panic in a particular circumstance. In other words, if you are worried, you haven’t prayed; if you have prayed, you have no need to worry. For those thinking that advice is over-simplistic, it is the same advice Jesus gave in Matthew 6:25-34, pointing out that faith overrides worry: “So do not worry, saying, ‘what shall we eat or drink or wear?’ The pagans run after all those things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
With that in mind, here are a few other helpful hints for a healthier New Year:
- When tangled up in a problem, be still so God can untangle the knot
- No matter the storm, when you are with God, there is always a rainbow waiting
- Do the math – count your blessings instead of your problems
- The most important things in life are not things, but people
- The one who dies with the most things is still dead
- Life moves too fast – enjoy the precious moments
- Laugh every day – it’s like inner jogging
- Don’t carry a grudge – it’s far too heavy and burdensome
- Be more concerned with your character than your reputation
In Proverbs, the wise Solomon summed up instructions for a healthy body with the following advice: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths and bring health to your whole body (Pr.3:5-6; 4:22).
Imagine the impact these helpful hints could have for an individual. Imagine what they could do for a family, a fellowship, a community, a country, and a world!
For His Glory,
Pastor Bill