Resolve to Always Be Resolved

Some Reflections On New Year’s Resolutions

It’s that time of year again. 2025 is done and 2026 has begun. All of a sudden, gyms are full, motivation is high, and resolve fills the air. But we all know the story. More often than not, the abundance of resolve quickly dissolves. January’s motivation quickly turns into April’s misery. Determined diligence gives way to repeated disappointment. Year after year, people start out strong, but then burn out midway, and completely quit halfway through.

This typical story makes me feel wary of and hesitant to make New Year’s resolutions. It also makes me think, is there really a point to them? Should people still bother making New Year’s resolutions? After doing some thinking, I have to conclude that they are still helpful. I think that people see the new year as an opportunity for a fresh start, and decide to take action on aspirations for change that they’ve long had. Additionally, we have time stamps, calendars, birthdays, holidays, memorials, and seasons for a reason. (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

However, I also can’t help but think that we can do a little better in the way we make New Year’s resolutions and thus avoid the high rate of resolution-burnout that so frequently occurs. To aid in this endeavour, in this article I’m going to talk about a mindset shift we can have towards resolutions and resolve, and two principles to keep in mind as we engage in accomplishing our resolutions.

The Reason for Resolve

As I stated earlier, the prevalence of failure in New Year’s resolutions makes me wonder, why even bother with New Year’s resolutions? In fact, why bother with resolve in general? Oxford Languages defines the word resolve as “to decide firmly on a course of action”. Resolution is defined as “a firm decision to do or not to do something.” Resolve refers to determination, grit, and an unwavering commitment to do or not do something.

Upon reflection on the definition and quality of resolve, I clearly see it is a quality that we as Christians ought to embody. Why? Because the Christian life requires resolve. It requires determination, commitment, and perseverance. It requires a decision and commitment to follow Jesus and kill our indwelling sin. It requires us to exert the strenuous energy and effort necessary to be faithful to Christ and His Word. Resolve is a quality essential for Christian faithfulness and fruitfulness.

It follows then that a mindset of resolve is one that ought to define the Christian every day of the year, not just in January and February. Though time stamps are helpful for measuring progress, the amount of effort and resolve we put in Christlikeness should not be increased solely in the first two months of the year!

Jonathan Edwards, in his famous list of resolutions said, “ I am resolved to live with all my might while I live!” In other words, he resolved to always be resolved. He sought to make the mindset of resolve a way of life as opposed to a momentary and sensational feeling of inspiration. He sought to ingrain resolve into the small ordinary moments of every day. He sought to live by and with a determination to make the name of God look as beautiful and awesome as it is in everything he did. And I think we ought to as well. One mindset we should carry with us all the days of our lives is the resolve to always be resolved!

Lifestyle over Lists

With that being said, I now want to talk about two principles to keep in mind as we seek to accomplish our New Year’s resolutions.

The first one is lifestyle over lists. What I mean by that is, striving to change your lifestyle over checking a list, or in other words, crafting your resolutions to shape who you are, as opposed to what you want to accomplish. There is nothing wrong with having specific goals and putting those goals on lists. The very reason we make lists is to provide clarity, structure, measurability, and accountability for ourselves as we seek change. However, the risk of lists is that once we fail to meet our specific goals, or succeed in accomplishing a specific goal, we return to our old way of living. We temporarily check off lists, without permanently changing our lifestyle.

James Clear in his bestselling book Atomic Habits says, “True behavior change is identity change. You might start a habit because of motivation, but the only reason you’ll stick with one is that it becomes part of your identity… Improvements are only temporary until they become part of who you are.” Do you see? Real change comes not from checking a list, but from changing your lifestyle.

James Clear’s concept of behavior change being rooted in identity is also related to a Biblical and prominent Pauline concept. Just think of Romans 6:2-4, “how can we who have died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Here, Paul is saying to the Romans, your worldly behavior contradicts your Christ-given identity! You ought to stop living in sin because a sinful lifestyle doesn’t align with you are in Christ. Instead, you “must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” You must remember your identity and live in light of it. So as you make New Year’s resolutions (which as Christians, should all be ultimately aimed at growing in Christlikeness), remember, it is about changing your lifestyle, not checking a list. The latter is temporary, the former is lasting!

Gospel and Grace over Grind and Guilt

The second principle is gospel and grace over grind and grit. What I mean by this is seeking to have a gospel-centered and grace-fueled resolve over a performance-driven and guilt-fueled resolve. This is really important. Because, as we just discussed, your identity has a significant connection to your behavior.

However, when we remove the gospel and grace from the conversation, we start changing our behavior for a self-idealized identity instead of from our God-given identity. When our resolve is not undergirded with the gospel and with grace, we start “grinding” to prove ourselves or to ease our guilty consciences.

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that in Christ we are a new creation with a new identity. Our lives are now hidden with him and therefore should now reflect his life. Gospel and grace over grind and guilt means we seek not to redefine our identity with behavior change and resolutions, but to realign our behavior with the identity we already have and the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed to us.

Another reason this gospel-centered and grace-fueled resolve is important is because as fallen and finite human beings, failure is inevitable. Unfortunately, part of living in a fallen world means that on this earth, perfection is not possible. However, our hope to keep on being resolved amidst failure is that God has promised to complete the work He began in us. As 2 Timothy 2:13 says, even when we are faithless, he is faithful.

So as you seek to implement your resolutions, do not do so from guilt and for the sake of performance. Don’t seek behavior change to earn favor, good-standing, and acceptance before God. Do it in response to the gift you’ve been freely given in Christ. Do it centered on the gospel, and fueled by God’s grace.

Resolve to Always Be Resolved!

As we enter a new year, my prayer is that the Lord will grant us all the resolve to always be resolved. As the multiplicity of tragic deaths at the end of 2025 poignantly reminded us, every moment, hour, day, and year is a precious gift from God. Because of the scarcity and therefore preciousness of time, we must steward it well. Because we never know which day could be our last (James 4:14), we must strive to live every day like it’s our last.

So this year, may our resolve be much and fruit be plentiful. And may our faithful God continue to sanctify us until the Lord Jesus Christ returns. He who has called us is faithful, He will surely do it! (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). Happy New Year, and remember to resolve to always be resolved!