Well, I doubt any of you expect to build a successful career by accident.

It comes from years of training and planning and seeking out the right positions, the right opportunities.

So why would we treat our joy any differently?

Today on Ask Pastor John, John Piper argues that deep Christian joy doesn't happen by chance.

It requires a plan.

He gives us a biblical blueprint for finding it intentionally.

But for speaking of intention and resolve, if you've been blessed by free access to our resources, and you want to offset for others the cost of free, as we're calling it, the cost of free, consider a one-time gift or monthly gift to help support everything that we do.

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We're talking resolutions today, and there's a cultural divide over New Year's resolution. Some people

approach this time of year with unshakable optimism, eager to set ambitious goals for self-improvement,

personal growth, spiritual development, fully believing in the power of a fresh start on January 1st.

Others scoff at the very idea, seeing resolutions as an exercise of futility, a well-intentioned,

but inevitable path to disappointment and failure by about mid-February. And then there's a group

that dismisses resolutions just entirely, viewing them as nothing more than a passing cultural

fad, a fleeting fad that holds little to no lasting

value at all. So we're left with a pressing question. In the Christian life, can New Year's

resolution serve a meaningful purpose in helping to align our lives with God's will? Or do they

often lead to frustration and spiritual burnout? Are they truly helpful in fostering

growth and obedience, or are they ultimately harmful? Perhaps setting us up for inevitable failure

in our own pursuit of holiness? And as we seek to approach this topic from a biblical perspective,

how does Scripture guide us in navigating the art of goal-setting resolutions and the

...