I don’t think I’m making one this year.

At least, not the kind we’re used to listing. No grand vows. No dramatic declarations about becoming a completely different person by January 2nd. I’ve learned that most resolutions fail not because we don’t mean them, but because we mistake pressure for transformation.

And God doesn’t work that way.

Scripture says His mercies are new every morning, not just every January. Which tells me that renewal was never meant to be seasonal. It’s meant to be daily, quiet, and deeply dependent.

If I had to name a resolution, it would be this:
to stay awake.

Awake to God. Awake to my heart. Awake to what He’s doing instead of rushing ahead to what I want to do for Him.

Last year taught me that it’s possible to be busy and still drift. To be productive and still dull. To be surrounded by good things and quietly lose attentiveness to the best thing. Jesus warned a church about that once. They had a reputation for being alive, but heaven saw something else. I don’t want a reputation. I want reality.

So my resolution is not to do more, but to notice more.

To pay attention to the places where God keeps nudging me.
To respond quickly when conviction comes instead of negotiating with it.
To return faster when I wander instead of pretending I haven’t.

Paul says, “I die daily.” That doesn’t sound glamorous. It sounds repetitive. But it also sounds honest. Daily surrender doesn’t make for impressive announcements. It makes for quiet faithfulness.

I want that.

I want to carry last year’s lessons without letting them harden me. To let gratitude outgrow disappointment. To let obedience matter more than outcomes. To measure growth not by visibility, but by fruit.

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.

Those don’t trend well. But they last.

This year, I’m choosing fewer promises and deeper posture. Less self-trust. More dependence. Less noise. More listening.

If there’s one prayer shaping this year, it’s simple.

“Lord, keep me awake.”

Awake to Your voice.
Awake to Your warnings.
Awake to Your kindness.
Awake enough to notice when You’re near and humble enough to stop when You say wait.

That’s my resolution.

Not to become someone new, but to remain with the One who makes all things new.