The Resolution that Matters


If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
~ Genesis 4:7 (ESV)
New years are a great time of restarting afresh; a time of re-evaluating ourselves and making resolutions for ourselves to grow.
Amidst our resolutions to be healthier, lose weight, exercise, spend more quality time with family, save money, quit bad habits, learn new skills etc, let us add one important resolution which has a way to make all these possible; the resolution to have the mind of Christ and combat the lies of Satan who tries to derail us.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” ~ Romans 12:2 (ESV)
Let us learn to discern and identify the tricks of Satan who tries to derail us from having the mind of Christ and so be victorious in our lives. We can learn how he works from Genesis when he first lied to Eve:
He first DETERMINES how much you know God’s word.
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” ~ Genesis 3:1 (ESV)
Satan will want to know how he can trick you and one of the starting points is him determining how well you know God’s word. If you are on a shaky foundation, you will sure make an easy target. To combat this, know God’s word so you can stand on firm foundations.
He introduces DESIRE, DECEPTION & DOUBTS about others.
“But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” ~ Genesis 3: 4-6 (ESV)
Even if you know God’s word, just like Eve, Satan will still attempt to derail you. He will introduce DESIRE so as to make his proposition to you so tempting it is to hard to resist. He will also introduce DECEPTION to try to make you feel you may have heard God wrongly and/or DOUBT to try to make you misunderstand others and their intentions, just so he can destroy relationships.
But God has already given us His Holy Spirit to help us and remind us of what He taught. Make a resolution to walk your life this year with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to help you deal with “sin that crouches at the door” and the devil’s 4D attempts to determine how he can trick you, introduce desire, deception and/or doubt, all so he can derail you from God and a victorious life with God.
Make the resolution to have and exercise the mind of Christ throughout the whole of this year. That’s the resolution that matters and which will impact all aspects of your life.
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord , and on his law he meditates day and night.”
~ Psalms 1:1-2 (ESV)


James is the Lead Thrive-Synergist & Founder of Emmaus Strategies; a social enterprise that “fuels good”. It does this through Mental Well-Being programmes for individuals and organizations, as well as Strategic Volunteer Partnerships consultancy and training for non-profits.