Well, it’s that time of the year again… the end. 2018 has come and gone and 2019 is just a few hours away, and let me just say, it’s been a banner year (insert adequate amount of sarcasm). Justin Timberlake released an album that no one listened to, a British prince married the girl from “Suits”, and Saudi Arabia gave women the right to drive, which they continue to refer to as “progress”. However, even after all of that, some people had a pretty rough year.
 
It's kind of become common place on social media to declare that the coming year will be better than the previous. I first remember seeing this trend as we approached the end of 2015. But when the much anticipated “Batman vs. Superman” film was less than stellar, topped with the deaths of David Bowie, Carrie Fischer and a number of other beloved celebrities, people looked to 2017. Then when 2017 didn’t fare much better, it was all about 2018, and now, not so surprisingly, people are all too ready to welcome 2019.
 
Maybe you’re one of the people who are looking to rip off your 2018 rearview mirror and drive on into 2019 with some hope of self-improvement. If that’s you, then keep reading, and if that’s not you, then keep reading.

The problem with most “New Year's Resolutions” is that when it all comes down to it, we honestly may not actually care about them, and they may be ridiculous and unattainable. However, here are three small changes you can make to turn 2019 into the best year of your life.
 
1: Get some exercise.
Yes I know, this piece of advice coming from a guy with my particular affinity for things covered in barbecue sauce seems a bit hypocritical, but I’m trying. Paul reminds us in I Corinthians that our bodies are “a temple for the Holy Spirit within you” (1 Cor. 6:19). As an added bonus, it’s been proven that continued physical activity can improve not only your physical well-being, but your mental state as well. I’m not saying you should get ready to compete in the Arnold Classic, but maybe take a walk, get some air, and enjoy the world that God has made just for us.
 
2: Spend time in God’s word.
This combines the need to spend time with the Lord and the added benefit of reading daily. You will be amazed at how your outlook on life can change just by spending time reading the Bible and seeing what God has to say to you, which leads me to step number three...
 
3: Have a quiet time.
This is a separate, but supplemental time from your Bible reading. It is a time where we step back, leave the cell phone across the room, turn off the television, and just listen. Take the time to really spend time with God, not just to make a check-mark on your to-do list. There is a lot that God wants to tell us; we just have to take the time to listen.
 
The bottom line is that, if we want things to get better, we have to be proactive. God is going to do amazing things for you this year. I’m not saying that if you do this you will be blessed with lots of money and a stress free life and everything you touch will turn to gold. What I am saying is that this seems to be a decent place to start finding God's will for your life.
 
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

History is full of great quotes, with even greater stories to go along with them. One such quote I ran across this week was the story of Union General John Sedgwick. During the Battle of Spotsylvania (I know, that sounds made up, but it is a very real place). General Sedgwick was quoted as saying, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance” in reference to confederate soldiers that were roughly 800 yards away.
 
This quote by itself is fairly lackluster, I understand that. However, what makes this noteworthy is the fact that it was almost immediately followed by General Sedgwick getting shot in the face by the aforementioned confederate soldiers.

Just as Sedgwick found out, arrogance can be dangerous. It is the fusion of pride and ignorance, and nothing good can come of it. Nations have fallen due to it, armies have been defeated because of it, and there are countless instances in the Bible that warn against it.
 
When King Nebuchadnezzer had his kingdom taken away from him, God sent Daniel to warn his successor of the impending loss: “When his heart was exalted and his spirit became arrogant, he was disposed from his royal throne, and his glory taken away from him” (Daniel 5:20).
 
If you look at all of these examples, one common factor that sticks out is getting too comfortable. We can easily get into the mindset that we have everything under control, when, in reality, we probably have nothing under control. It’s not so bad to have confidence in one’s ability. For instance, Lebron James can confidently say he is a better basketball player than 99.9% of the population of Earth (not a citable fact, just a solid guess). But if Lebron doesn’t realize that he’s only the second most important factor in that, none of it matters.
 
Sure, we can put in the work - and there is a strong biblical case that we ought to - but we have to come to a place where we realize that we are not number one. And no matter what we have, everything except our relationship with God can all be taken from us in an instant. To quote Heathcliff Huxstable, God “brought you into this world, and he can take you out.”
 
Sometimes it’s important to step back and remember that God deserves the glory and we deserve a pat on the back, not the other way around. And to think otherwise is, well… arrogance.