Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed.
—Proverbs 16:3
Do you make resolutions? Sure you do. You resolve to stop doing something you’re doing, or start doing something you’re not doing. You want to be better and do better.
How do you pull that off? Paul answered with just 15 words: “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Gal. 5:16).
A paragraph later he jotted down a cluster of nine qualities that he dubbed the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (vv. 22, 23).
Nine Sticky Notes on your bathroom mirror will get you off to a good start. Ponder them. Pray about them. Practice them.
P.S. When you stumble, don’t beat up on yourself. Try again.
Think progress, not perfection.