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As I type this out, depending on the time zone, some nations have welcomed the new year. The turn of the year is generally met with hope and enthusiasm as it offers the opportunity for a fresh start in many ways. From governments to organizations to individuals, plans are made in the hope that the incoming year will be better than the outgoing. Those who have had moral failures see this as an opportunity to break with what they hope would be the past. Dreams and aspirations that weren’t fulfilled are dusted and refocused and new hopes are birthed. ‘New Year Resolutions’ is what they are called.

Unfortunately, not a small number of these ambitions fail to see the light of day. Many who hope to break with bad habits and acquire new and better ones fail even before the year has gone anywhere far. I have heard several persons piously say that they do not make New Year resolutions (probably because of the high failure rate. Better to not make one, go public with it and end up failing than to make any at all).

Truth be told, if a particular period of the year is what would bring about a transformation in human character, then Jesus died for nothing. If a New Year resolution was all that was needed to fix our brokenness, then God didn’t need to offer his Son; all he had to do was wait for the beginning of the year to get us fixed up.

But isn’t it okay to make resolutions? A resolution, after all, is simply a firm decision to do or not to do something, and we make them all the time. The problem with bandwagon resolutions is that, among others, they are simply that—bandwagon decisions, taken at the start of the year and backed by human willpower alone, in the hope that the season and willpower will carry one through.

Truth be told, if a particular period of the year is what would bring about a transformation in human character, then Jesus died for nothing. If a New Year resolution was all that was needed to fix our brokenness, then God didn’t need to offer his Son; all he had to do was wait for the beginning of the year to get us fixed up.

Every Resolve for Good

“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfil every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” —2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Here, Paul prays for the Thessalonian believers, that God may make them worthy—fit for what he’s called them to be. He also asks that God may fulfil every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power. There are a few things you should not miss in that statement:

• These resolves are resolves for good. So it is scriptural to have resolves for good, whether these be in January, July or December, all that matters is that they are for good.
• They are work(s) of faith. They proceed from faith in God and are carried out by faith in God. Everything that doesn’t proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
• They are backed by God and his power and his grace. The Apostle asks that God may fulfil … by his power … according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• The purpose that undergirds these resolves is the highest purpose in heaven, on earth, the universe and the metaverse—the glory of God: so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him. Perhaps you need reminding, that the glory of God is the purpose behind all that God does. If your resolves do not have the glory of God as their overarching purpose, you have no right to expect that God would be drawn to them.

So, have you made resolutions before? How much success have you had with them? Can you use the four points above, drawn from scripture, as a plumb to check if your resolutions were correctly aligned?

God Has Backed Resolutions Before

The backing of resolutions by God is not just a prayer point in scripture, we have records of successful resolutions that have had the backing of God.

Daniel and some of his fellow Israelites were taken captive to Babylon and were recruited into the service of King Nebuchadnezzar. While, as you can imagine, the royal food would have been sumptuous and tempting for a commoner, here’s what Daniel did:

“But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favour and compassion to Daniel.” —Daniel 1:8-9

He resolved. If you check this firm decision of his, you would find in it the four points we noted earlier: it was for good; it was by faith (how else did he expect a heathen chief official, Ashpenaz, to be favourably disposed toward him; it was backed by God (It was God who caused the official to show favour and compassion to Daniel); it was done for God’s glory. It was a success as evidenced by his (and his friends’) healthier and better-nourished appearance compared to those of the other recruits who feasted on the royal food (Daniel 1:15).

Joseph was another who took a firm decision—a resolution—and was backed by God to success. Sold as a slave to Potiphar’s house, his master’s wife soon took note of his handsome features and desired to have him. “Come to bed with me!” (Genesis 39:7), madam demanded, but the young man wouldn’t budge. He responded to her: “No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). This was not a one-off request, “And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.” (Genesis 39:10). Firm resolution. That the resolution had the four elements in it didn’t prevent Joseph from getting into trouble. As much as he suffered, he didn’t give up and the end proved his decision to have been the right one.

Joseph the husband of Mary and the father of Jesus also set this example for our learning. Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). How was he going to react amid this difficult situation? Someone has said, and I agree, that it is more difficult to react as a Christian than to act as one. You can plan your actions, but your reactions are normally responses to external events foisted on you with little to no time to think before you respond. The spontaneity is where the trick lies and is what trips us up. So what did Joseph do? “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19). The resolution of the God-fearing Joseph to not subject Mary to public ridicule was what gave the window to an angelic visitation that saved the courtship and later, the marriage. Maybe your marriage (or whatever relationship) has hit the rocks, what resolution can you, under God, make, to save it from collapse? When I got married, a sister gave us the gift of a book. The author spoke on how to ‘divorce-proof’ your marriage and his prescription was simply this: make up your mind (resolve) that you will never divorce your spouse. Only God knows the number of marriages that have been saved by such a simple, yet profound, resolution.

There are several other examples that we could mention, such as Ruth resolving to go home to Israel with Naomi despite zero prospects of finding a husband; Daniel resolving to keep praying three times daily facing Jerusalem despite the king’s edict prohibiting allegiance to any other deity; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego resolving to not bow to the king’s idol despite the threat of being burnt alive; Jesus firmly resolving to go to the cross despite the rejection he faced and the discouragement from someone like Peter, etc. Let those suffice for now.

God-inspired, God-enabled

Whatever your history has been with resolutions, you can have positive testimonies about them. Maybe the first thing you need to sort out is any negative impressions you may have about resolutions, and for whatever reason. A resolution or resolve is simply a firm decision to do or not to do something. You can do so at any time of the year; the start of the year is also a good time to make one or two. We make decisions all the time. Someone has said, “Great meetings do not change people but great decisions do.” Whenever you decide, lean not on your own understanding or the arm of flesh. As the songwriter says, the arm of flesh will fail you, you dare not trust your own.

As God’s child, he works with you to transform you through sound decision-making. Scripture says, “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). If you will listen to the Spirit as he creates the willingness within you and gives you the strength to act on the resolves that stem from those God-inspired prompts, your resolutions will succeed.

A Suggested Resolution

Whatever your resolution for the new year (or whenever), permit me to suggest that this year, you consider resolving to make yourself a person of the Book, the Bible, more than ever before. Whatever the level of your closeness to the word of God, you couldn’t do too much with this one.

Whatever your resolution for the new year (or whenever), permit me to suggest that this year, you consider resolving to make yourself a person of the Book, the Bible, more than ever before.

It is a tragedy that there are too many Christians who do not have a healthy attitude to the regular, nay daily, intake of the word of God. What is the singular most important tool that could be used by the Spirit to transform your life and character and fulfil the primal purpose of the work of God in your life, namely the conformity to the likeness of Jesus? It is the word of God. What will you possess in these end-times that will give your life weight and keep you from being led astray, deceived and blown away like a reed? It is the word of God. How will you get to know God more? It is by his word. How can you keep your way pure? It is by taking heed to the word of God.

The Bible says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16). The Psalmist asked, “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word (Psalm 119:9). Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). How did the Lord reveal himself to Samuel? “The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word” (1 Samuel 3:21). Resolve to be a person of the word.