Yes, it’s that time of year again—the season when we look forward to new beginnings and fresh possibilities. The New Year presents a wonderful opportunity to recommit ourselves to growing into who God has called us to be. And with that comes one of the most time-honored annual traditions: New Year’s resolutions.
Whether it’s getting more sleep, eating more healthily, improving our relationships, or managing money more wisely, there’s no shortage of goals we can set. And to be clear, setting goals as God leads is a good thing. After all, He wants us to steward well the life and blessings He’s given us.
At the same time, we can get so caught up in striving and doing things that we miss what matters most. We forget that God’s primary focus isn’t our habits or actions but the condition of our hearts and transforming our inner being. Real change, after all, begins from the inside out.
So, what if this year, instead of trying to better ourselves, we focused on finding ourselves in God’s grace? Rather than striving to fix, figure out, or improve our lives, we can embrace the life Jesus calls us to—a life centered on our relationship with Him.
The apostle Paul offered a perspective that can reshape our approach to New Year’s resolutions. In Philippians 3:10-14, he challenges us to press toward a different kind of goal: one grounded in our identity in Christ and empowered by God’s transformative grace.
Here are four key lessons we can draw from Paul’s words.
1. Passionately pursue knowing Christ.
There is no shortage of tools and resources to help us live life well. We could easily spend the year taking in articles, podcasts, and books to help ourselves live better lives. Yet, knowing Christ is the most essential knowledge we can have.
Paul wrote, “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead” (vv. 10-11).
Knowing Christ means having an intimate relationship with Him and living in His resurrection power. This power equips us to face trials and challenges by enabling us to recognize that our suffering is a means to grow in Him and grow more like Him. In His presence, we find the joy, peace, and rest that our souls most desire.
As we grow in our knowledge of Christ, our affections and priorities also begin to change as we come to see life as it really is. We grow more in love with Jesus, and we trust Him more with our lives, increasingly seeking His will over our own. Talk about #goals!
2. Press on with the proper perspective.
“Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.” (v. 12).
As we enter a new year, remember: you won’t be perfect, nor will life be. Not until Jesus returns and we enter the kingdom of heaven. Until then, our lives are works in progress. As we grow to know Christ, we experience progress, not perfection.
This year, not everything will get done. We’ll make mistakes and offend people. We will fall short in doing what pleases God. Even Paul, the church’s most prolific missionary ever, acknowledged that he hadn’t become fully like Christ. This should remind us to press on with the proper perspective.
The truth of Jesus’s perfection, not our own, also invites us to walk humbly, extending grace to others. Paul told us in Philippians, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves” (2:3). People may disappoint or frustrate us. Yet the same Spirit that strengthened Paul empowers us to love them well.
3. Looking forward, not back.
When an athlete is running a race, one of the first things she learns in training is not to look back. Otherwise, she risks losing speed, focus—and even the race. Staying focused on what’s ahead keeps her moving toward her goal with confidence and strength.
Paul said, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead …” (3:13)
Paul had a past that could have left him with paralyzing guilt and shame. The same person who was now forsaking everything for Christ had been putting Christians to death just years earlier. But by God’s grace, Paul was determined to put his past behind him. Forgetting his old life also meant letting go of the accolades, privileges, and pedigree that once were his.
Is there something in your past that’s weighing you down—stealing your hope and joy? Might God be calling you to surrender it to Him? Forgetting what’s behind is about not allowing the past to determine your future. This letting go isn’t something we do in our own strength and power. But in Christ, we have the greatest help available. He makes all things new!
4. Running toward the prize.
“I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus” (v. 14).
It’s clear that Paul had a special calling on his life. He wrote thirteen books in the New Testament, went on four missionary journeys, and established churches throughout Asia Minor and the Middle East.
Yet this calling that he was referring to is not vocational but spiritual. This is a calling we share with him: to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith (2 Tim. 4:7).
Paul was a driven and accomplished individual, known for getting things done. Yet his truest pursuit and deepest desire were to know Jesus and to be like Him. This finish line held the greatest reward: eternity with Jesus. Paul knew that every hardship, setback, and sacrifice had a purpose beyond the here and now.
We will not always achieve the goals we set. Our earthly plans will not always unfold as we hope. We may not always be successful, but we can be faithful.
As we approach the new year, let’s focus on what matters most: growing in our relationship with the Lord. He has given us everything we need to become who he’s called us to be through our knowledge of him (2 Pet. 1:3). May faithfulness be our measure of success, trusting that God’s grace will guide us as we run the race ahead.
ABOUT TIELER GILES
Tieler Giles is a personal development coach who inspires and equips others to grow in God’s grace. Through writing, teaching, and coaching, she supports change-seekers on their journey to becoming who God has called them to be. Tieler believes the gospel of Jesus really is good news—and has the power to transform us, our everyday lives, and the world around us. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her new book, How to Ditch the How-to, shows how God’s grace provides what we need to learn, grow, and live life well.
