Updated December 29, 2025 by Alex Rodriguez
Although I am not a “morning person”, New Year’s Day is one day I look forward to waking up before the sun. I grab a blanket and a thermos of hot coffee and drive 45 minutes to meet my friends at the beach before dawn so we can welcome the new year by watching its first sunrise. In those beautiful, quiet moments listening to the waves, I look back on the previous year—thanking God for answered prayers, celebrating met goals, and reflecting on the ones I missed. I also consider the new ones I’d like to make.
I’ll be honest—I never used to make New Year’s resolutions. The pressure to “better myself” just because everyone else was doing it (and often failing) didn’t appeal to me. And I wasn’t alone in my thinking—according to the results of this New Year’s Resolution Poll by YouGov, most Americans don’t even plan to make New Year’s resolutions in 2026.
But my perspective changed after listening to The All It Takes Is A Goal podcast by Jon Acuff. Acuff reviews and sets goals every January. His logical and enthusiastic views on goal-setting for the new year shifted my attitude, and now, I genuinely look forward to it. Thanks to Acuff’s easy-to-implement approach, I view making resolutions at the start of the year as an opportunity to plan how I can be a good steward of the time God has given me, and how I can use that time to become more like Jesus.
At its core, a resolution is simply a goal to help you become who you want to be. As Christians, our resolutions should reflect our faith and help us become more like Christ.
Resolutions and goals are not about achieving perfection or earning praise and recognition. They are ways we can experience God in a deeper, more personal way.
In this blog post, I’ll give you 10 biblical New Year’s resolutions for Christians, but first, I’ll share some thoughts on whether Christians should even make resolutions (spoiler alert: we should) and a few tips for making biblical resolutions that you can actually stick to.
If you’d like to skip ahead to the list of 10 Biblical New Year’s Resolutions for Christians, click here.
Should Christians Make New Year’s Resolutions?
While there’s no specific Scripture passage that says, “Thou shalt make New Year’s Resolutions,” Christians can—and likely should—set goals. And not just at the start of a new year, but throughout our lives. I have a good friend who sets her resolutions on her birthday.
The difference between a Christian’s goals and resolutions and those of someone who doesn’t yet follow Jesus is the posture of our hearts and our ultimate motivation—to be more like Jesus. As 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 tells us, we who are in Christ are new creations. As new creations, the Spirit of Christ is working in us, making us more like Him. And as He works in us, we begin to change and spiritually mature, becoming more like Him. Creating biblical, Christ-centered resolutions is one way we can participate in that process.
As new creations in Christ, the way we view and approach everything, including the setting of resolutions and goals, comes from a Godly perspective rather than from society. And we can see God’s perspective, His purpose and His design by looking to the Bible.
Why New Year’s resolutions make sense
From the beginning, God created and emphasized rhythms of life:
- Each day of creation was marked by morning and evening (Genesis 1:14-19).
- Every seventh day was set aside for rest (Genesis 2:2, Exodus 20:8).
- A year is divided into four distinct seasons, each with a purpose (Genesis 8:22).
- God even intended that the land get a break every seven years (Exodus 23:10-11).
As the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, there’s wisdom in recognizing the proper season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) —a time for work and rest, gathering and scattering, and a time for planting and harvest (just to name a few).
As we live our lives in this God-created cadence of days, months, seasons and years, it makes sense that certain times naturally inspire us to reflect and set personal goals for the seasons ahead. Using the start of a new year to mark a season of growth fits perfectly into that rhythm.
5 Ways to Set Biblical Resolutions That Stick
Resolutions work best when they come from genuine contemplation about how you want to grow spiritually, and overall as a person.
The sad reality is that most people fail to stick to their resolutions. It’s important to recognize that ultimately, Christ is the only One who changes hearts—not our checklists or willpower. Even so, we still have a role to play in the discipline of our lives.
Here are five ways to set yourself up for success when setting new year’s resolutions:
1. Keep Christ at the Center
As Christians, everything we do and say should flow from our faith in Jesus. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus encourages us to “seek first the kingdom of God,” trusting that our Father in heaven will take care of the rest (Matthew 6:25-34). As Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, whether we are eating, drinking (or setting goals), we should do it all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Ask yourself: how can my goals for the year honor God?
2. Pray About Your Resolutions
Before you set a goal, ask God what He wants for your year. Praying about your resolutions can help you approach them from a place of faith that invites God into the process.
If you’re not sure what kind of resolutions you should set, remember that you have a Father in heaven who delights in granting His people wisdom, and He can help you. James 1:5 promises, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (New International Version).
Ask God: How would He have you grow this year?
3. Surrender Your Expectations
Hold your plans loosely. Naturally, it’s up to us to use our wisdom to set our goals and resolutions for the year. But we need to do so with the understanding that God is sovereign, and He can set us on a different course should that be His desire for us.
Proverbs 16:9 tells us that although we make plans, God is the ultimate director of our lives. And Psalm 37:4-6 encourages us to delight ourselves in the Lord and commit our way to Him. When we surrender our specific desires to Him, we align our hearts with His will.
4. Be Realistic
The apostle Paul encouraged the church in Corinth to approach their faith the way a runner approaches a race: “Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24, NIV).
This means moving toward our goal of becoming more like Christ with perseverance, endurance and at a sustainable pace. We must focus on the long-term prize (Christ), not just the next step.
When we surrender our specific desires to Him, we align our hearts with His will.
We should approach our resolutions with the same logic. Setting a grand resolution can feel exciting in the moment, but unrealistic expectations can quickly lead us to burn out and fail. For example, I once set a goal to exercise three times a week for one hour at a minimum. But I quickly found out that I couldn’t maintain it—at least not right away.
So I changed my approach and started small: once a week for twenty minutes. By setting small, manageable milestones, I was able to build up my endurance and eventually meet my original goal (over a year later). I even gave myself little motivational prizes along the way (after 15 workouts, I earned a new pair of running shoes, etc.) Being realistic about your resolutions means setting a pace you can maintain.
One of my favorite resources on setting and meeting realistic goals is the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. I also highly recommend checking out Jon Acuff’s books and online content.
5. Include Your Community
Sharing your goals with others provides accountability—a built-in check-in system to keep you on track with your resolutions. When you invite friends into your resolutions, you create opportunities to build trust with them and allow them to encourage you when you need it. This deepens relationships and can lead to friendships in which you mutually inspire and encourage one another.
As Hebrews 10:24-25 says, let us “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” Openly sharing the difficulties and growth areas we face in our faith (including our spiritual goals and resolutions) allows people to come alongside us and help us grow and mature. And this kind of community—the kind that bears one another’s burdens and encourages one another—honors God.
10 Biblical New Year’s Resolutions for Christians
If you are looking for inspiration or suggestions, here are ten resolutions grounded in Scripture to help you grow closer to Jesus this year.
1. Read Your Bible
The Bible is God’s Word; it is the way He speaks to us today. Reading Scripture regularly helps us abide in Him the way Jesus encouraged His followers to in John 15:5. When we read it regularly, we store up the Word of God in our hearts.
“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
If you’re starting out, start small—one verse or short passage a day— and grow from there. You can set a goal to read a certain number of verses per day, or to read the Bible for a set amount of time.
2. Pray Regularly
Prayer is simply communication with God, and we are called to “pray without ceasing“ (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). This doesn’t mean you have to be kneeling in prayer all hours of the day. It means keeping a running conversation with God as you go about your life.
Maybe this looks like setting a timer each day so you can pray for a certain number of minutes, then increasing that time as you build your habit. It might look like praying at the same time every day, or keeping a prayer journal and setting a goal to write two or three entries per week, then expanding from there.
We think this resolution is so important, we have a whole blog post about it. You can read it here.
3. Nurture Christian Community
God did not create us to live our lives in isolation. And Christians especially are meant to live out their faith in community with others. A biblical community is one in which its members are all growing in their faith, serving one another and encouraging each other through prayer and friendship.
There are many Bible verses about community, but my favorite passage on this theme is Romans 12:9-18, which encourages us to honor one another and to practice hospitality, aiming to live at peace with everyone. This year, resolve to deepen your relationships.
- Go to church faithfully.
- Join a small group or Bible study.
- Meet with Christian friends outside of formal gatherings for coffee, a meal, or just to spend time with one another.
4. Seek (or Be) a Mentor
The very first mandate Jesus gave in the Great Commission was to make disciples (Matthew 29:18-20). Discipleship requires walking through life with someone, showing them how to apply Jesus’ teachings so they can imitate Christ—just as Paul encouraged the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitated Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
If you are just beginning to live out your Christian faith, then it’s wise for you to seek someone you can learn from. Connecting with a leader in your church is a good place to start. If you have been a Christian for a while and are mature in your faith, it’s a good idea to look for someone you can encourage and nurture in their faith, similar to the way Paul mentored Timothy, as well as to seek mentorship yourself.
5. Share the Gospel
Romans 10:14-15 asks poignant questions of all Christians: How can those who have not heard about Jesus come to know Him? And how will they hear about Him unless someone tells them?
As Christians, this is not optional for us—we are meant to share our faith and tell others about the gospel. This is at the heart of growing spiritually every year. The good news of abundant life in Jesus is not ours to keep secret, but to share with others, allowing them to experience the joy and freedom we have in Christ for themselves.
What better way to grow this year than to extend the overflow of our faith to others? If you’ve never done this, this is a great year to start. You can learn more about what this looks like in this guide to evangelism.
6. Serve Others
Jesus set a beautiful example of serving during His earthly ministry. One example I always come back to is when He washed the disciples’ feet. As followers of Christ, we ought to do the same for others.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
This year, look for ways to serve in your church, your local community, and even within your own family. This can look like volunteering to help in your church for a service, or doing a task or chore for your family member to help them out. There may also be volunteer opportunities in your community that allow you to extend the love of Jesus through serving others outside of your church or family.
7. Be More Generous
2 Corinthians 9:7-11 gives us guidance on how we can be “cheerful givers.” Generosity is not about giving more money, but about the posture of your heart. It’s about how a giving God can multiply what you give. Read more about what it means to be generous (a cheerful giver) here. There are immense spiritual benefits to growing in generosity. This could be the year you adventure into this often untapped area of growth for many Christians.
8. Practice Gratitude
The apostle Paul wrote frequently about the importance of thanksgiving (Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18). When we practice gratitude by reflecting on what we are thankful for, we train ourselves to focus on the good and set ourselves up to praise God for the ways He has been faithful to us.
Last year, I bought a gratitude journal. I write down just one thing each day that I am grateful for. It spans three years, so I can look back and see God’s faithfulness over time. A journal like this is a simple and effective way to reflect on God’s faithfulness. When I do, I’m encouraged not just to praise Him but to continue to honor Him and live according to His ways.
9. Honor the Sabbath
God told His people in the Ten Commandments to “honor the Sabbath and keep it Holy” (Exodus 20:8-11). This goes beyond attending a Sunday service, though that is part of it. It is a rhythm of work and rest established by God to renew His people.
In his book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer lays out the importance of Sabbath as an act of worship. I’ve read this book twice, and each time I came away inspired by how our God cares about our rest—so much so that He created a whole day for it as an act of worship to Him!
Setting aside a day a week to truly rest is a challenge, and it was a difficult habit to create. But when I started doing it, I found my energy up and my demeanor toward work and daily tasks more positive in general. I highly encourage you to observe the Sabbath if you do not already. I can tell you from personal experience— it will bless you! You can find great resources on this practice here.
10. Walk in Your God-Given Purpose
The Psalmist wrote that when God created you, he planned your days (Psalm 139:16). He has a design and plan for your life. And as you grow closer to Him, you learn more about the “good works” He prepared beforehand for you, and for all Christians, to walk in (Ephesians 2:10).
If you’re not sure of what His purpose is for you, I encourage you to seek it out this year. Our blog post Finding Purpose in Christ can point you in the right direction.
Final Encouragement
Resolutions and goals are not about achieving perfection or earning praise and recognition. They are ways we can experience God in a deeper, more personal way. I encourage you to consult God’s word and invite the Holy Spirit into your process as you select resolutions for the new year, and trust that He is making you more like Him as He works in you.
