How to Make This Year Different

Well, as we opened the program, I asked that question, what will make this year different than last year? Or for some of you, maybe the last few years? Because what we all know is that people are going to sign up for the gym, I’m gonna lose five pounds, 20 pounds, 30 pounds. I’m gonna get in the Bible every day. I’m going to join a small group. You know what, I’m gonna set goals and I’m really gonna work. I’m gonna make partner this year. Or you know what, I’m gonna get my license, I’m finally gonna go back to school. And it goes on and on and on.

And in about two weeks, there’ll be less people in the gym. There’ll be a lot of diets that started that have fizzled out. In about a month or six weeks, the gym will be back to normal of those people that get up really early and do it or hit it right after work, and it’s a part of their life—they almost never miss.

And what I want to talk to you today about is how life change can happen in your life, but maybe it doesn’t happen the way you think it does. And maybe you’ve been kind of running the wrong software or trying to execute a game plan that doesn’t work.

What I know is that if any man or any woman is in Christ, we become new creations. The old things pass away, behold, all things become new.

And so, I’m going to share some, maybe some mistakes that I’ve made that you don’t need to make or don’t need to keep making.

I have a little practice I’ve done. This sounds crazy, but maybe for three decades at least. My practice has been threefold, and I’m going to focus on the first two.

The first is, I look back. Second, I look up. And then third, I look forward. And here’s what I mean by that.

There was a quote that I read many, many years ago about Socrates, and not that he’s on the same level of the Bible. But, you know, a philosopher, Plato, others, greatly respected. And Socrates said, the unexamined life is not worth living. And I think that we often jump into what needs to change without doing something that every business does, right? Things aren’t going very well, or good businesses, if things are going really well, what do they do? They pause. They evaluate.

Maybe it’s a very specific SWOT analysis, or they look at, you know, the last quarter, the last year, the last three years, year over year. What are our KPIs? In other words, what are those key performance indicators? But I find that even people in business, even executives, often who will do that in their business life, don’t do it in their personal life.

And so, one of the things I’ve learned over the years, it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. And then later in Proverbs, Solomon, the wisest man in the world, will say the fear of the Lord is also the beginning of wisdom. And in Hebrew, the word wisdom isn’t like being smart. There’s a difference between being smart and being wise. Wisdom is understanding how God has arranged or orchestrated life to work.

How relationships work. How money works. How goals work. How people work. How He’s designed life to work, and wisdom is lining your life up with the way that God has lined life to work. And so, you know, what’s the right thing to do in each season, the right reason that you’re going to do it, and then how to actually do it. All that is involved in wisdom.

And so, the first thing you need to do is push the pause button. And before you get all focused and you know write out a new set of goals for 2026 and sign up for the gym, and you know, you’re checking and scrolling about, okay am I going to go with the keto diet? Or am I’m going to go with this diet or that diet? Am I going to go the intermittent fasting route? And you know, we just want to hack to change things overnight but please pause and evaluate.

You may not keep a journal. I keep one. I’ve done it, actually, since college. I’m not so much writing down what happened yesterday, the day, the day before, but I’m writing much more about this is what I’m sensing. This is what I’m praying. This is where God is leading. Here’s the top three or four challenges that I’m facing, and I might write a little box and turn those into a prayer request.

And so, when I read back over the whole year, and I do that, kind of that time between Christmas and the New Year, or the first few days of the New Year, I find a corner, and I will slowly, just without judgment, read back over the year. There’s something about pausing and looking back over the year that gives you perspective. We too, too often start acting about what we’re going to do next without really trying to get a sense of where are we?

And so, I would encourage you as you look back that you, yes, Lord, is there some things I need to address? But also, that you list some things, this went well. I really made improvements. Wow, you know something? I did work out more regularly than in the last several years. Or, you know something? You know, I had a troubling or a difficult or a concerning relationship at work. Or, you know, if you’re married, maybe it was with one of your children or with an in-law, and you kind of look at that and you say, you know something? Great progress was made.

Because see, once you look back, you want to evaluate. And then what I call looking up, you want to take what you think and then kind of look up and say, Lord, you know, whether it’s in your mind’s eye or if you don’t keep a journal, maybe you go through the calendar and you just look at your calendar or scroll back over maybe some key texts and just say, wow, what went well? Where did I see God show up? What would I give thanks for? And what were some areas that seemed to be some themes? And can I say, don’t overthink it. The Lord really longs to help you more than you and I often want help. And if you’re not quite sure, Lord, what’d you bring to my mind? And so, you evaluate that step one.

Yeah. And when I do that, I do have a list. And so, I’ll, I’ll ask myself, you know, in 2025, did I have a growing, vital, fruitful relationship with the Lord? What, what I’d say my marriage is like, uh, on a scale of one to ten? Was it a four? You know, we made it through, but was it a seven? You know, are we flourishing? Have we had one of those like, wow, we, it was a nine. However you want to do it, but I think it’s important to not get too narrowly focused. Obviously, we know from all the research that people are a little over the top on their weight and on getting in shape, and if you’re a follower of Jesus, it’s, you know, time in the Bible and prayer time, and those are all really, really important.

But I would encourage you to say, okay, where am I at in my relationship with the Lord? Where am I at in those most important relationships? If you’re married, obviously, you’re mate. If you have children, obviously you’re children.

Then you may ask yourself physically, I mean, if my body’s the Temple of God, you know, let’s be honest, you know, if it’s been sort of a lot on the couch and a lot of potato chips and a lot of pizza and a lot of, like, you’ve been planning on changing. Or maybe you’re on the other end where, I mean, you’re just so self-focused because your body has to be just perfect and, you know, you’ve got to work out at this nth degree, and it’s taken over your life. You know, part of evaluation is realizing, you know, there’s some good things that can become idols as well. The big lie is we think we can do far more than we can.

And then I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you to evaluate your personal ministry. I don’t mean just you go to church. I mean, that would be a good one to look at. When we survey people, you know, we have Barna or others do some surveys for us at Living on the Edge, and you, maybe you wouldn’t be shocked. I’m shocked that what people report, how often they go to church, or how often they read the Bible, or how they’re doing spiritually, is like 25 to 50 percent better than reality. And I don’t think they’re consciously lying. I think it’s just like, well, yeah, you know, yeah, we’re regular. Well, except for, you know, during the traveling team season, and we’re regular except for in the summer where we’ve got a place at the lake or, you know, we’ve got the. And pretty soon you start adding the holidays. Well, when people come in town, it’s not really so good to go to church. My whole point is not whether you do, or whether you don’t at this point, it’s being honest with where are you really at.

And I think the final one that is really important is ask yourself to evaluate where am I at emotionally. I mean, am I an anxious person? Am I someone who worries? You know, if I sort of tried to evaluate what’s my joy level, what’s my peace level, what’s my love level?

And so, you might be saying, Chip, you’re spending a lot of time on evaluation. That’s because knowing where you are is the prerequisite to moving from where you are to where you and God want you to be. You know, you can get in the car and say, man, I’ll tell you what, we’re going to Philadelphia, but if you don’t know you’re in L.A., you know, instead of Las Vegas, or you don’t know you’re in L.A. instead of New Orleans, it’s a very different road to get there.

And now let me give you, if you will, some real practical ways that I think will kind of help. Once you get that list and you’re looking at it, if you don’t feel overwhelmed, you probably haven’t done a great job. So, you want to summarize and prioritize, this is where I’m doing well, this is what needs to change. And then list them, you know, just get them out of your head because they’re going to mess with your brain and with your emotions. Just list, here’s all the things I’m doing well, here’s all the things I think I need to change. And right, once you get past about two or three, it’s like, oh my gosh, I need to change, change, change. Just write them down to get them out of your head.

And then you take those lists, and you look up and you bring them before the Lord and you say, God, you know, I, there’s no way I can address all those issues. And I need to strengthen the things that I’m doing well. Would you give me real wisdom from you, Holy Spirit led of what, where do I need to stay focused in my strengths? And then what one or two things, it’s just January, right? There’s 12 months in this year, what one or two things do you want me to begin to address?

Please, please, refuse to tackle all of them. I was talking to someone close to me. We, you know, got a, not a huge organization, but a number of different people in it. And I was looking at someone’s goals. And I mean, it was like, you know, I’m gonna read the Bible every day. I’m gonna lead a Bible study. I’m gonna memorize so many scriptures. I’m gonna, I mean, it was like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I told this particular person, I said, you really don’t wanna go there. No, no, no, no, no, I think I can do it. And then we do, rather than yearly, three times a year, we do evaluations at Living on the Edge. And so, the evaluation time came and this person came to me and said, oh my, I really, I bit off way too much than I could chew, then I felt defeated a lot of the time. It was so overwhelming. Then I realized halfway in, I can’t do all this. I actually made some good progress, but because I tried to do everything, it was overwhelming. It was negative. I’ve got to scale back and just come up with what’s realistic.

And here’s what all the research tells you. And whether you read a book like Atomic Habits or others, consistency is much more important than setting a big goal and keeping a big goal. If you say, you know, I really want to get into God’s Word and I want to develop that habit, or I want to work out. I want to tell you, that if you would do it every day, and if the day you don’t want to do it, it feels terrible, there’s no way I’m going to open the Bible, you say, I can open it for five minutes. Set your watch even. Open it for five minutes and read for five minutes and then shut it and go on. Most times you’ll end up doing it a bit more than five minutes. But the habit of doing it five minutes will lead to ten or fifteen, and you’ll build the rhythm and the habit in your life that’s far more important than, I spent a half hour with God when you were doing nothing or little. You know, then I did this and I did that and then you look up and you haven’t done it in a week, then you feel defeated. A consistency. Try to lose like one pound a week or every two weeks. And he goes, Chip, it’ll take me six months to get where I need to be. Yes, it will. And it’ll stay off and you won’t be binging.

You know, the key, start small, develop habits, progress, and consistency. And so, you’re not going to try to do everything. And here’s when you think about prioritizing things. Jesus was teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, and by this time, He’s talked about prayer. He’s talked about fasting. He’s talked about His Word. He’s talked about not lusting, when He gets to the end of chapter 6. And this is before there’s a pretty big summary about chapter 7 opens with the two kinds of people, and there’s one kind that talk about and hear God’s word, that don’t put it into practice, and then there’s the kind who hear from God and put it into practice. And one is built on the rock, application, consistency, obedience. And the other is, I heard it, I intended to, I convinced myself I am doing it, and it ends built on sand.

And in chapter 6 of Matthew, verse 33, He says: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” And it was the concern about, you know, clothing and food and the necessities of life. And so, what Jesus was teaching there that there is a really clear priority.

And I would say this, you may need to get in shape, get in shape spiritually before you get in shape physically. It’s not necessarily an either or. But what I know, if you get in shape spiritually, you’ll hear from God. As you hear from God, you get grace. Grace is the both the want to and the power and the ability to obey and do what He wants you to do.

So that’s just a priority with me, you know, there’s times I don’t work out as much as I want to, but I have diligently made the habit over many decades now, I meet with God every morning. I have an honest conversation. And if your soul gets healthy, the rest of you will eventually get healthy.

The next thing I would say is don’t go it alone. You will fail. I mean, there’s a reason that whether it’s AA or Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers or you name any group, Al-Anon, they all have discovered the biblical principle that a cord of three is not easily broken. Proverbs 13:20 says: He who dwells with wise men will be wise, but the companion of a fool will suffer harm.

You can’t go it alone. You have to verbalize your goals. You need someone in your corner. And if it’s an area that’s a struggle for you, like dieting or working out, probably your mate is not going to be the best person because it feels like when we do that for the person that we’re married to, that we’re becoming the junior Holy Spirit, and then they feel... Don’t go there. If you’re a woman, find a woman that can speak into your life. If you’re a man, find a man who speaks into your life. And when it comes to devotions and physical exercise, don’t go it alone. Even if you have to say, hey, we’re going to text each other at the end of each day when we do this practice or don’t do this practice. Once a week, maybe it’s your closest friend. It’s across the country. Hey, can we Zoom for 15 minutes? There is plenty of ways to be successful and to connect, but don’t go it alone.

And then the last thought, or next to the last thought maybe, is John 15:5. Jesus says: Abide in me...I’m the vine, you’re the branch. Apart from me, you can do nothing. Refuse, refuse to think somehow that willpower and habits and hacks and I’m gonna do it this way. The only one that can live the Christian life, are you ready, is Jesus. He’s asked you to abide. The only one that can overcome every temptation is Jesus, and He lives in you. Your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus dwells in you. His power that raised him from the dead dwells in you. It’s in dependency, and he has you depend on him through His Word, through the community of God’s people, and just say, Lord, I can’t do this. You never said I could, but you can work in me and through me.

And I would say the final thoughts that I think over the years of I’ve met with people and in my own life where I’ve so failed, is refuse to compare yourself with other people. The apostle Paul would say in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 12: For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. For when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. Comparison always leads to carnality.

You always find yourself comparing up or comparing down. If you compare up, you’re a nobody. You’re worthless. If you compare down, you get arrogant and you’re a jerk. You are you. Don’t compare yourself. The only one you compare yourself with is God’s standard before the living God who loves you and is for you. And how are you comparing with what you did before?

And the last thing is refuse, and this is my lifelong one, refuse to be a people pleaser. In Luke 16:15, Jesus was talking to the Pharisees, and he said to them, he was speaking about money and wealth and some other areas, but the principle is true: He says, you know what you all? That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

Fame, likes, what you drive, the handbag, the watch, where you vacation, there is so much stuff, whether so-and-so went public, so-and-so got a promotion, it’s not just comparison, it’s pleasing people. And even people that are very, very close to you. You and I need to first and foremost please God. Paul would say in Galatians 1:10, if I were still seeking to please people, I wouldn’t be a bondservant of Christ.

And so let me encourage you, this year can be different, but it’s not gonna be different by trying harder, by trying to do too much. Evaluate, look back, then look up, prioritize.

And then say, Lord, 633, I’m going to seek you first and your righteousness, and I’m going to abide. And I’m going to do it with you in the community of a friend or two that I can really be honest with. And I’m just going to take baby steps in a couple areas. You do that in January, you’ll see progress. And then maybe you want to add one in February, or you may want to increase what you’re doing. That’s how long-term transformation happens from the inside out. I hope this is a help, and I would love to hear from you. It’s Chip at Living on the Edge, one long word, dot O-R-G. Chip at Living on the Edge dot org. Let me know how it’s going.