Bonus Episode #11—New Year’s Resolutions

As the calendar turns to a new year, many Christians find themselves wrestling with a familiar question: Should we make New Year’s resolutions? More importantly, how should we think about recommitment and spiritual renewal in light of our faith?

There’s something almost superstitious about the way we approach 1 January. We make grand declarations: This year we’ll read the Bible cover to cover, lose weight, or finally break free from particular sins. But what makes the first day of the year so special? If you’re planning in December to read the Bible next year, why not start immediately? If you want to meet a physical goal, why wait for an arbitrary date?

The danger lies in the mentality itself. New Year’s resolutions often carry an assumption that 1 January brings some mystical new energy—that this year will be different simply because the calendar has changed. But life will knock you on the nose. You’ll face trials, and you’ll fail. We need to be realistic about this.

Consider the person who resolves to read through the Bible in a year, starting 1 January. This well-intentioned goal can actually create confusion and discouragement. What if you can’t start on the first? What if you fall behind by May or June? Do you simply give up and try again next year? This thinking reveals a fundamental misunderstanding.

There is, however, an important distinction between resolutions and recommitments. A resolution often carries an attitude of “I failed last year, but this year I’m going to do better”—as if sheer willpower will be sufficient. It’s a confidence rooted in one’s own abilities, often ignoring the pattern of previous failures.

Recommitment, by contrast, acknowledges our weakness. It factors in the reality that we are not totally in control, that we will fail, and that we may need to get up a thousand times to achieve what we want to achieve. Recommitment involves reflection: What have I done well? Where can I improve? What lessons have I learnt from my failures?

Scripture does provide a framework for periodic renewal and recommitment. In Leviticus 25:1–5, the Lord establishes the Sabbath year:

“The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruit, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.’”

There’s also the year of Jubilee, and of course the weekly Sabbath—the Lord’s Day. Scripture recognises periods of rest, reset, and recommitment. These aren’t magical moments, but intentional pauses for reflection and renewal.

Before making any resolution, reset, or recommitment—whatever you choose to call it—you need to think deeply about several key questions:

Why did you fail last year? Was it a lack of self-control? Were you trying to succeed in your own strength? Did you lack humility? Is what you’re pursuing actually unachievable, or perhaps even sinful?

Is your goal possible and achievable? Wanting to become president in a non-election year isn’t realistic. But losing weight, if that’s something you need to do, is both possible and achievable.

Where are you drawing your strength from? This is crucial. The strength to accomplish what you’ve committed to must come from Christ, not from yourself. You must approach your commitments with sober humility, recognising that it is Christ who strengthens you.

What does this do to your soul? Is this commitment healthy? Is it perhaps an idol in your life? Sometimes our failures are actually God’s protection, keeping us from pursuing something that would harm us spiritually.

If you fall behind on a commitment, don’t simply give up and wait for next year. If you started reading through the Bible in January but find yourself stuck in Leviticus by May, pick it up again. Use the weekly Sabbath as a moment to refresh and recommit, not just the major “Sabbath” of 31 December.

The goal isn’t to achieve perfection by our own strength or to maintain some arbitrary timeline. The goal is faithfulness—getting up when we fall, drawing on Christ’s strength, and continuing to pursue godliness throughout the year, not just at its beginning.

Whether you choose to make New Year’s resolutions, recommitments, or simply continue pursuing godliness as you have been, remember this: the calendar change doesn’t give you new power. Christ does. Any commitment you make should be rooted in this reality, approached with humility, and pursued with the understanding that when you fail—and you will—you can get up and continue, strengthened by him who calls you.

The first of January isn’t magical. But a humble, Christ-dependent commitment to growth—whenever you make it—is always worthwhile.