Refreshing Resolutions
- Jess Coles
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
What were you doing last Friday? Well, if you’re someone who made a physical New Year's resolution, statistics from Strava suggest that was the day you first broke it; the first day your running shoes stayed in the porch untouched, and the day the gym began to go quiet.
What’s more, research suggests that by the 19th January, 92% of people with resolutions will have already quit them.
It can be easy to feel guilty about that. We once again have “failed”. We “haven’t tried hard enough”. We didn’t persevere.
But what if the issue at hand isn’t simply a problem of willpower? What if it’s that we are pushing ourselves, depleting ourselves, trying to do more in lives that are already stretched? What if there is a better “resolution” available that isn’t just a goal to achieve but a refreshing rhythm to live by?
REST
At the beginning of every year, it is like the collective cultural narrative becomes one of striving. A universal cry of “more” – more goals, more discipline, more activities.
But what if we chose a different focus?
From the very beginning, God has woven the pattern of rest and renewal into creation. We can remember how God rested on the seventh day, and then established that same rhythm for his people through the weekly Sabbath (see Exodus 20:8-11). It ensured regular time for God’s people to put away work, and devote themselves to rest, worship and to be refreshed in the Lord.
Whilst this is not a requirement for us now, it is still a good gift. A joy-inducing rhythm that offers us rich spiritual, emotional and physical benefits, and one we at Living Leadership wholeheartedly encourage.
It is good for us all to have regular occasions where we remind ourselves that our fruitfulness doesn’t depend on the things that we are doing but rather springs from a heart that is abiding in Christ (John 15). Times when we dwell in him and receive the refreshment that flows only from the true vine, that is Jesus himself.
It is also good for us to be reminded that our God neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4). He does not need us to hold everything together. While we lay down our burdens and give ourselves over to rest, he continues his work.
So, why not consider a better “resolution” this year?
One that does not ask you to do more, but to stop.
One that does not ask you to achieve something, but rather for you to regularly relinquish everything over to the God who has it all in hand.
One that does not ask that you deplete yourself, but to be refreshed.
Why not resolve to find your own rhythm of refreshment this year?
A note for the overburdened (or for whom this sounds like “one more thing to do”):
The blessing of this invitation is that it is not a standard to reach. There is no formula to follow, prescription to get right, or metric to measure its success. It is simply an invitation to create a regular rhythm of rest and refreshment.
You can decide what this looks like to you and allow it to evolve as you discover what this can look like in your life. For many, a weekly sabbath can be a good place to start. For others, or eventually, it may include daily, monthly, quarterly or annual rhythms of rest and refreshment.
Some questions for reflection:
Do you have a regular practice of resting in Jesus?
What helps you to abide in Christ? What often pulls you away or prevents you from that?
Where might you be able to commit space to a new rhythm like this?
What is one small, realistic rhythm you can start?
What would help you do this?
