“Nailed it!” I said, as I watched my New Year’s resolutions go bad faster than that fancy pot roast I made for dinner last week. “Nailed it!” I said, as my goals go undone quicker than the laces on my daughter’s shoes. “Nailed it!” I said, as my plans so neatly typed and hung on the bathroom mirror get splashed with toothpaste water. Again.

“Eat more salads.” “Be more patient.” “Do more crunches.”

They’re a picture-perfect Pinterest list, are they not? They describe a “picture-perfect” me, at least, until I failed at them and realized one more time perfection isn’t possible. Not in this life, and not in the broken world we live in. So, what if we made a different list this year? Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, what if we wrote down God’s Resolutions instead? What if we made a list of all the things God stands ready to be for us? What if we made a list of all the things He says we are already because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross? If it helps, I’ll start:

God loves you. Unconditionally.

He chose you. Before the creation of the world.

He doesn’t condemn you. He is for you.

He doesn’t sleep. He is with you.

You are blessed. Redeemed. Holy. Blameless.

More than a conqueror. (See Rom. 8:1-39, Eph. 1:1-10, Ps. 121:3-4, Jos. 1:9)

In the Bible, Proverbs 3:6 tells us, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (ESV). Perhaps that truth is what we need most. Perhaps we need to acknowledge Him and let who He is (and what He says about us too) rise above all that we wish we could be.

Because God’s already “nailed it.” He nailed our “not enough” to the cross so we might have more than enough grace to cover every moment, in every day, in every new year. I’ve started the list.

What will you add?

*First published by The Joyful Life Magazine.