New Year: Recommitment Over Resolution
It is January 2nd.
The confetti has been swept up, planners are freshly opened, and resolutions are at an all-time high. Everywhere you turn, someone is starting a new routine, a strict diet, a fitness challenge (including me!), or a self-improvement plan. The New Year is one of my favorite times of the year, as it is full of hope and possibility, and I love a new beginning.
But what if the invitation of this season, this New Year, is not to reinvent ourselves, but to return?
What if the call is not toward self-discipline alone, but toward deeper dependence?
What if God is inviting us into recommitment, not just resolution?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a resolution is “a promise to yourself to do or to not do something.” At its core, a resolution centers on the self. It relies on personal determination and control. And while discipline has its place, many of us are aware of how fragile resolutions can be. By February, the promise we made to ourselves often lies broken, quietly replaced by guilt or discouragement. And if by chance we keep our resolution, it often becomes a source of pride.
Recommitment, however, tells a different story.
To recommit means “to entrust or consign again” (Merriam-Webster). To entrust means to “put something into someone’s care or protection” (Oxford Language). When we recommit, we are not tightening our grip; we are loosening it. We are placing ourselves back into hands far steadier than our own. And we are giving up all bragging rights.
Scripture consistently invites us into this posture.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).
A resolution leans heavily on our own understanding and effort. It is self-focused. Recommitment leans fully on the Lord. It requires that we keep our gaze upon Him.
To recommit is to say, “Father, I give You this again. I give You my hopes, dreams, fears, and failures. I place myself back under Your care.” It is not a declaration of independence but an act of surrender.
Jesus Himself framed life this way:
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me… apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4–5).
Fruit does not come from striving harder; it comes from staying connected.
Recommitment is covenant language. It echoes Israel’s repeated return to the Lord, and God’s faithful response every time. “Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts (Malachi 3:7). Even when we wander, God does not withdraw His invitation. He welcomes us back into relationship.
This year, let’s recommit to walking as Ruth did, in deep covenant with the God of Israel. May we lay ourselves at His feet, trusting that His redemption is true and far better than we can imagine.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
How can you recommit to covenant with God? Perhaps studying the covenants in the Old Testament, as well as the new and better covenant in Jesus, would be a great place to start preparing your heart.
What areas of your life are you tempted to control?
How can you release them into the faithful hands of your Creator?
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
“I want to go with you and stay with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live.” - Ruth 1:16 (TPT)
If Ruth entered a covenant whereby she was fully redeemed and grafted into Israel, how much better is the new covenant we have with God through His Son?
“For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. 8 For finding fault with them, He says, “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will effect a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah . . . I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” - Hebrews 8:8 & 10 (NASB 1995).
CALL TO ACTION:
Pause & Pray — Set aside just 5 quiet minutes today. Offer your heart and life again to Him. Just as you would to your first love, tell God again why He is worthy of recommitment.
Tag a Ruth — Share this blog and tag a woman who walks out her faith in covenant with God.
Share Your Story — Leave a comment, message, or scripture!
