20 Ways to Get 2020 Off to a Strong Start
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Resolutions for the new year are easy to make but not always so easy to bring to fruition. Here are twenty ways, along with related Bible passages, to get 2020 off to a strong start:
1. Gives thanks daily.
Remember God's general and specific blessings in your life and thank him daily.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thess. 5:18)
2. Get your rest.
Go to bed at a reasonable hour and get a good night's sleep—you'll be well rested and better able to complete your pursuits.
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. (Ps. 127:2)
3. Start your day with prayer.
Follow Jesus' example and start your day by praying to your heavenly Father. If you’re not sure what to pray for, reciting the Lord’s Prayer is a great way to begin.
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35)
4. Check your heart.
You may be harboring a grudge without realizing it. When old wounds resurface, remind yourself of how God has forgiven you in Christ and seek to have a merciful and forgiving heart toward others.
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Col. 3:12-14)
5. Remember the gospel.
Because Christ was born in the flesh and kept the law perfectly, being the perfect once-for-all sacrifice for sin, we have sure hope.
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Cor. 15:1-4)
6. Keep yourself in God’s Word.
Have you ever wanted God to speak to you? He has already in his word. Read your Bible daily and learn the special revelation God wants you to know, understand, and take to heart.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. (2 Tim. 3:16)
7. Focus on making small improvements in difficult relationships.
Consider the factors/triggers in past conversations that have made communication frustrating with a particular person. Next, think of one small change you can make in your attitude, perspective, or dialogue that will encourage better interaction when you connect with each other in the future.
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Rom. 12:9-10)
8. Obey God.
Christians should be diligent to grow in godliness. Remember your consequent duty as a child of God to strive to honor your heavenly Father in your daily comportment.
Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Rom. 6:13-14)
9. Take time to enjoy God’s creation.
It’s easy to get stuck indoors due to a variety of factors. Try to get outside every day if possible and enjoy God’s creation, even if it’s just for a small amount of time.
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great. (Ps. 104:24-25)
10. Know and fulfill your responsibilities.
Nowadays it seems like there are more distractions than ever competing for our attention. A person’s character is largely determined by how well they fulfill their responsibilities. Faithfully tend to all God has entrusted to your care.
Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds. (Prov. 27:23)
11. Attend church regularly.
Attend a local church regularly that faithfully preaches the word of God and rightly administers the sacraments and church discipline. Online sermons can be helpful and edifying, but they are not meant to replace consistent church attendance where a believer participates in the communion of the saints and is cared for by faithful pastors, elders, and deacons.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb. 10:24-25)
12. Plan ahead so you will be prepared.
Getting organized is a lot easier said than done, but it’s worth the effort. Make a list of your top priorities for 2020 and assess what you can reasonably accomplish. Keeping physical clutter to a minimum can be a big help in reducing mental clutter as well (see #18 below).
"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’" (Luke 14:28-30)
13. Live locally.
We can get so occupied with connecting globally in this digital age that we forget to focus on building relationships locally. Take a moment and chat with your neighbors as well the people working in stores and other businesses that you frequent on a regular basis. These conversations will likely bear the fruit of friendship in at least some cases in the years to come.
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thess. 5:11)
14. Don't overcommit yourself.
You don’t need to overcommit. God will give you the time you need to complete the work he has for you to do.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. (Eccles. 3:1; see also Eccles 3:2-8)
15. Be persistent.
Remember the goal you are trying to achieve, and don’t give up no matter how discouraged you may be at any given moment. Keep your focus in the face of obstacles and consider the good that will come from your efforts.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:1-2)
16. Enjoy God’s gifts.
If possible, try to take some time each day to enjoy the simple daily pleasures of life God has given to you.
Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. (Eccles. 5:18)
17. Put people first.
Don't vainly strive for excessive wealth and achievements. Invest in people in tangible ways, and always be ready to share the gospel with them.
Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. (Eccles. 4:7-8)
18. Consider implementing a simpler lifestyle.
More is not always better. God has placed us in a material world, and we honor him when we use what he has given us responsibly, creatively, and joyfully. Think of ways you can simplify your life in your various vocations and avocations in order to better focus on your priorities.
For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. (2 Cor. 1:12)
19. Cling to Christ, not the world.
Remember that this world is passing away—keep your focus on the things that will last. The missionary Jim Elliot famously said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:16-17)
20. Rejoice in the Lord always.
God has given us his word and Spirit to remind us that, even in the midst of tribulation, we have the peace and love of our Father in heaven because of Christ our Savior. We also have a glorious eternal home awaiting us that can never be taken away.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Phil. 4:8-9)