Are you a New Year’s resolution person? I can’t say that I am. It’s not that there haven’t been years when I’ve thought about it, but the truth is that, at least for me, making a “resolution” is just setting myself up for failure. It’s not that there aren’t things about myself that I would like to change or that need improving … it’s just that I know from personal experience that when I declare I’m going to do something (or not do something) that’s the thing I end up doing or not doing. Heavy sigh…
The truth is, if you made a resolution yesterday, it may already feel a bit tired. Perhaps you’re the exception to the rule, but for most of us, we meant well … but resolve alone has a short shelf life.
Paul sounds surprisingly modern in Romans 7. “I do not do the good I want, but the bad I do not want is what I keep on doing.” If that isn’t the patron saint verse of broken resolutions, it’s hard to imagine what is. Paul isn’t talking about laziness; he’s naming a deeper truth: willpower alone doesn’t work.
Those words may be discouraging, but, in a way, they’re also freeing. The Christian life is built on a mixture of determination and dependence. It’s not about promising to try harder; it comes from practice and from learning, again and again, to lean into God’s grace. As Paul concludes, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25). In other words, in the end, it isn’t about him; it’s about God’s grace he has received because of Jesus.
Perhaps, instead of resolutions, today is the day to loosen our grip, take a breath, and learn from Paul’s example. It’s a good day to remember that God is at work even when we stumble. And – even if you are a resolution person – remember that God’s grace doesn’t expire when your resolve does.
Prayer: Gracious God, when my good intentions fall apart, meet me with your mercy. Teach me to rely not on my strength, but on your grace, one day at a time. Amen.
