Did you make New Year’s resolutions for 2025? Are you already finding them hard to keep? Have you given up on any of them yet?

I used to make the same resolutions year after year after year and each time I meant it with my whole heart and I really thought I was going to stick to every single one of them. Each year it was the same thing—read through the Bible, be a better wife and mom, and lose weight through healthy eating and exercise.

I would write out my goals, create small steps to achieve the larger goals, plan, buy diet and exercise books, new Bibles, journals, books about becoming a better version of myself, and each year I was just as excited as the year before because I knew this was going to be the year I achieved my resolutions!

Every Christmas and New Year’s Eve I would engorge on food because starting on the 1st I was going to get healthy and change all my eating habits. During the holidays I always put on more weight because it was my “last” chance to have all the good food before I made all the changes to get healthy and I was never going to go back!

I started out so strong each Jan. 1st, but by the first week I had already failed at most of them. I was stuck in this cycle for years and then the Lord opened my eyes and showed me the huge reason why I was failing was because I was telling Him what I needed to do and how I was going to do it. That one revelation changed the way I approach goals, plans, and action steps. Now instead of deciding on my own what I want to do, how I want to do it, and the timeframe I am going to do it in, I sit with God and ask His opinion. I want to share with you what that looks like.

Going Into a New Year

Sit with God and take stock of last year. Ask Him what you got right, what you got wrong, areas of strength, areas of weakness, and areas to work on. Be honest with Him and yourself. It may be painful but ask Him to hold a mirror up to your face so you can take an honest look.

Next, ask Him what plans and goals He has for you in the following year, how He wants you to accomplish them, His specific plan, ask Him if there is anything He wants to speak to you, and then quietly listen for what He wants to speak to your heart. Journal the goals, plans, and anything else He speaks to you. Write it down somewhere you can see it often throughout the year so if you get off track you can quickly be reminded of everything He spoke to you.

I also want to encourage you to bring any unhealed areas and areas of rebellion in your life to Him. Don’t carry them into 2025. Forgive everyone that has hurt you, lay down all offenses and refuse to carry them a day longer. Mend relationships that need to be mended. Let the past go. Release the pain, seek healing, deliverance, and/or counseling so you can be fully free.

Philippians 3:13-14 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Don’t walk in bondage for another year or another moment. Seek freedom!

John 10:10 The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy, but I have come that they may have abundant life.

What has God been calling you to do? What has He been laying on your heart? Make this the day you go for it and stop holding back! Do the things that you are scared to do. The ones that you tell Him you are not equipped to do. Start looking at His ability and not yours. If what He is asking you to do doesn’t take you out of your comfort zone and cause you to rely fully on Him, it probably isn’t Him. He pulls us out of our comfort zone so that we must fully rely on Him.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]

Ask Him to show you who He created you to be. Don’t carry one characteristic of any false identity that has attached to your life. Peel off the layers that are not from Him and that are not who He created you to be. Ask Him to remove all self-doubt and begin to fully depend on Him.

We do not need to spend time finding ourselves. What we need is time with our Creator—asking Him who He created us to be and for the purpose He has for our lives.

Surrender fully to Him today. Let this be the day you lay everything down at His feet and hold nothing back from Him.

Make reading through the Bible a top priority in 2025. Dedicate time each day to getting into His Word and read each book of the Bible. Discipline yourself to read, even when you do not feel like it and when you do not want to.

Set aside time to pray each day and throughout the day. Spend time talking to God and allowing Him to talk to you. We build our relationship with Him through communication and communication is two parts—talking and listening. Include Him in every part of your life.

Repent for any areas where there are patterns of sin and ask God to help you have a change of heart, mind, and direction. Break the patterns of sin by using discipline and you may also need to change your people, places, and things. Decide to be different and then do whatever it takes to implement those changes.

Ask yourself what is standing in the way of your relationship with Him and then remove it!

I pray 2025 is the year you seek and gain total breakthrough from anything that has been holding you back and that you walk closer to the Lord than you ever have before.

Blessings,

Nichole Henson

Fullness of Joy Ministry

Fullnessofjoyministry@gmail.com