A couple weeks ago, I was laying in bed, completely jet-lagged. It was nearly 1 a.m. and my brain showed no signs of slowing down. I think that night I thought of nearly everything under the sun. I'd just made my first solo international trip, and I'd gotten maybe 10 hours of sleep in the last 48. As sleep was still somehow eluding me, I talked to God for a while instead.
I told Him about all my hopes and dreams for the new year. My brain was buzzing with new ideas, and I finally stumbled upon the perfect topic for my very first Odyssey article. I'd been mulling over various ideas for a couple months. I had lots of questions for myself: Who am I going to be on this platform? What sides of myself do I want to showcase? What do I want to accomplish through my writing here?
Eventually, it all boiled down to one thing: I want to glorify God through everything I do. He probably won't be the only subject I include in my writing, but I want everything I write to reflect His work in my life and to honor Him.
As I've been reflecting on my desires for the New Year, this has remained in the forefront of my mind. It's the one New Years Resolution I decided to make, but it's pretty hefty. However, I think it's the most important resolution I'll ever make. I want to honor God in the way I talk to my parents and friends, in the way I treat both myself and others, in how I use social media, and in the way I approach my schoolwork.
However, this year is not the first time I've made this resolution to glorify God. In fact, this is what God's been asking me for many years. In the past, I've noticed that in response, I've given God chunks of my life, but not the entire thing. When He's asked for more, I have to admit that I've argued that there simply aren't enough hours in the day to do all that He asks of me.
This is, of course, total nonsense. As the Creator of day and night, He knows precisely how many hours there are in the day. I've known this for years, but somehow this conversation keeps happening over and over again. However, over the course of this last year, I've finally figured out why: I've been trying to do this in my own strength.
For most of my life, I've been a Pharisee, thinking I'm better than everyone else, trying to give off an appearance of a holy life while actually being extremely broken and imperfect. This resolution is only possible when you lean on God and let Him do the work.
As Christians, I believe we are called to make this resolution, and I want to invite you to make it with me. Living for God is a massive time commitment - in fact, I firmly believe He wants your entire life. It's no simple task, and it's actually quite impossible by human standards. However, this isn't the sort of resolution where you fail once and it's over.
He is a God of endless forgiveness, and He never meant for us to do this on our own.
