Well, it’s the first week of January 2026, it’s that time of year when we fill the pressure to sit down, look forward in anticipation at the remaining 361 days we have left in the year and determine goals we want to reach for the year, tasks we want to accomplish, and bucket list items we want to fulfill. We call it a New Years Resolution, and it is something we are sometimes guilt tripped into doing because all our friends and family do it and commercials on TV make you feel guilty if you don’t. Now don’t get me wrong, making a resolution to do something is a good, positive thing, that is as long as the resolution you are making doesn’t involve doing something questionable, illegal or sinful.
But the thing is, resolutions can come with pit falls, especially if the person making the resolution lacks the strength of integrity, the desire or the ability to stick to the plan to fulfill those resolutions.
Personally, I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. I believe that if something comes up in life that is worth making a resolution about, then it is ridiculous to wait until a specific time of year to start working toward it.
I believe this is the attitude we should also have toward obedience to Jehovah.
Resolve is more than intention—it is a decision of the heart that moves us to action. Many people admire God’s Word, they agree with its truth, and they even plan to obey His word… someday. But Scripture consistently warns us that delayed obedience is a path that could lead to destruction. God calls His people not to wait and have good intentions tomorrow, but to faithfully resolve today to do what your heart knows you must do.
This morning we’re going to look at five aspects or qualities of resolution as it relates to our relationship to Jehovah and his word.
1) God calls for a decisive commitment
In the Old Testament we find that Joshua stood before Israel at a moment of decision. They had seen God’s power, His provision for the Israelites for their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and they had seen His faithfulness. Even so, Joshua pressed them to resolve their loyalty.
In the book of Joshua chapter 24, Joshua had gathered the Israelite elders, judges and other leaders and with his message he recounts all that Jehovah had done for them, beginning with bringing them out of bondage. And in verse 15 Joshua tells them to
“15b: …choose this day whom you will serve
And then he makes a declaration:
“15bb But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15
Faith you see is not passive. Jehovah doesn’t ask us over and over indefinitely to “consider being obedient. No, Jehovah asks us to choose. To choose between doing what is right and what is wrong, to choose between committing your life to serving Him or serving yourself. He doesn’t want us to waffle on our decisions about following Him, He wants us to be decisive. A resolved heart says ‘I have decided to follow Jehovah, to follow Jesus and I will not be swayed from that path, I will not turn back to my previous life.
Jesus makes this same declaration when he tells us in Luke 9:62 –
“62 No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62
Now some of you may have done some farming or been around farms and farming or possibly had a big garden at some time. So you likely already know that when you are tilling the ground, plowing the ground, whether it be with a small garden motor tiller, a horse drawn plow or a big modern tractor (one that isn’t run by a satellite that is), you know that if you keep focused on a destination ahead of you, a point you are aiming that plow at then when you get to the end of that row your row will be straight. But as you are plowing and take your eyes off of that point you are headed for, if you look back to check on the row behind you, well when you get to the end of that row it will undoubtedly be crooked.
Consider a firefighter. A young firefighter was once asked what he learned in his first year on the job. He said, “The most dangerous moment isn’t the fire—it’s hesitation.” In a burning building, stopping to weigh every possibility can cost lives. The firefighters who survive and save others are the ones who commit to a course of action and they move forward toward their goal of saving lives and stopping a fire with confidence in their training.
In the same way, the Christian life requires resolve. When we know what God’s Word says, hesitation only weakens our obedience. Having a decisive faith is a declaration that says, “God has spoken—now I will act.”
Resolve means forward movement, not hesitation.
2) The Danger of Putting Off Obedience
Scripture provides us with sobering examples of those who delayed responding to God. Those whose resolve was not fulfilled.
We find one such example in the book of Acts when the tribune, which in this instance was the title of a senior army officer who is responsible for the troops and also discipline among the troops, so the tribune Claudius Lysias is told by Paul’s nephew of a plot to murder Paul so Claudius has him sent to the governor, Felix, who is in Caesarea. Protected by 270 soldiers Paul is sent safely to Felix for judgement. Now what is peculiar about Felix is that in Acts 24:22 we learn that he knew quite a bit about the church and Christians so when Paul was brought before him, Felix had an understanding of Christianity, and over the next two years he repeatedly had Paul brought to him and talked to him. It would seem to me that if Felix talked to Paul for two years, and the Bible doesn’t say this, but I think we can know because of who Paul was that those talks with Felix most certainly involved Paul teaching Felix the full teachings of Christ, trying to convert him. But at that first meeting Pauls’ words really got to Felix. Listen to what the scriptures say happened –
“25 And as he (Paul) reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, ‘Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.’”
Acts 24:25
You see, Felix heard the word and he was convicted about what he heard, he understood it, but he delayed taking action on that conviction, or at least the scriptures do not record that Felix acted on it and was baptized.
The Bible warns us in the Hebrew letter about what can happen if we put off obeying God.
“15 …Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Hebrews 3:15
The rebellion of course meaning the Israelites who escaped Egypt and wandered in the desert for forty years as it explains in the verses which follow.
You see, once you hear the Word and understand it and believe it but you stop there and don’t become a baptized believer and live your life for God you will begin to harden your heart and just put off following God until the day comes that you can no longer make that decision.
There was once a farmer who noticed a small crack forming in a dam on his property. It didn’t seem urgent, so he decided to fix it after the next harvest. Weeks passed, and the crack slowly widened. Then one night after heavy rain, the dam gave way, flooding his fields and destroying what could have been easily repaired earlier.
Delayed obedience works the same way. What begins as a small postponement such as “I’ll obey later”—can grow into spiritual damage we never intended. God’s warnings are given early, not to alarm us, but to save us. Putting off obedience hardens the heart. What we delay today becomes harder to do tomorrow. When we delay obedience, we often end up paying a much higher cost.
3) Resolve Is Rooted In Trusting God’s Word
True resolve comes from us having confidence in the promises God has made. Both to those who follow him and those that don’t.
The Proverbs reminds us to
“5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
We often delay obeying because of fear. We fear loss, discomfort or uncertainty.
The Psalmist declared in Psalm 119:105 and 106 that:
“105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.”
Psalm 119:105-106
You see, the psalmist is displaying an emotional enthusiasm when he rights these words, he is displaying his very deliberate commitment to Jehovah, a commitment that is firmly grounded in his belief in the word of God.
Jehovah gives us the light to help us find our way through life but also the light for us to know with absolute certainty what we must do and what He PROMISES to do in return.
Consider the Israelites when they were on the very edge of the Promised Land which they had sought for 40 years, yet they refused to go in because they feared the giants, the fortified cities and the risk of losing everything. They delayed obeying God’s very clear command. Their fear of uncertainty made them hold back from obeying Jehovah and that delay resulted in very serious consequences. Their resolve was lacking because it wasn’t rooted in trusting Jehovah.
A tightrope walker once stretched a cable across a deep canyon and asked the crowd if they believed he could walk across safely. The audience all agreed. Then he asked them, “Do you believe I could push a wheelbarrow safely across?” Again, they said yes. Finally, the tightrope walker asked for a volunteer to sit in the wheelbarrow, as he pushed it across the canyon. The crowd then grew silent and not one person stepped forward.
You see, belief became real trust only when someone was willing to get into that wheelbarrow. Similarly, resolve isn’t just agreeing God’s Word is true – it is placing the full weight of our lives on that resolve. When we trust, truly trust what God has said, obedience will follow, because we believe God will hold us steady and firm.
Some things which can make people stall in actually following Jehovah God are things like the fear of losing what we feel we know as safety, or the fear of losing our control of decisions, and possibly the fear of losing our reputation among the world or even our discomfort at not knowing “how to follow Jehovah.” These are just some of the things which can make people hold off following God or resolving to follow through in following God - even though they already know what God wants them to do.
4) Our resolve about God’s word produces action
Resolve without action is empty. People like to resolve at this time of year to get into the gym more, to lose weight or some other equally important thing to change their life.
Did you know that statistically around 23% of people who make a new year’s resolution end up quitting on that resolution by the end of the first week! That number rises to 43% by the end of January. Only 9% of Americans who make resolutions at the beginning of the year complete them. That’s according to a study done by Ohio State University.
Why do you think that is? I believe when they made their resolutions and subsequently tried to achieve them, they didn’t have anyone of authority to answer to other than themselves. No one was going to say “Do this or else!” so they had no one to obey, no one to hold them to the consequences of failure.
Scripture consistently links resolve to obedience.
In 1 Samuel 15, King Saul was commanded to destroy Amalek and all its possessions. But instead, Saul decided to spare what he saw as valuable while at the same time he insisted and declared that he had carried out Jehovah’s command to destroy it all. All, not part, not everything but the cattle or everything but the gold and not everything but the women and children. Jehovah’s command was to destroy it ALL! To NOT spare a single person. But God told Samuel to go to Saul and let him know God was displeased with him. You see Saul tried to rationalize his disobedience by claiming the cattle were for offering sacrifices to God. Samuel exposes Sauls error and tells him in 1 Samuel 15 and the latter part of verse 22:
“22b Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…”
I Samuel 15:22
In our small, finite minds we sometimes try to do like Saul and rationalize our way out of doing exactly what God has commanded. Saul lacked the resolve to follow through with what the Lord had instructed him to do and because he lacked that resolve, because he thought he had a “better” solution it cost Saul his kingdom in the end.
The New Testament is of course full of examples of ways in which mankind does not follow through on their resolve.
In the gospel of Luke Jesus asks
“46 Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”
Luke 6:46
Here in this passage Jesus is contrasting two different kinds of people – first those who hear his word, they resolve to act on it and then they follow through on that resolution. This is contrasted in verse 49 with the second type of person who hears the word of God but upon hearing it makes no resolution to follow through with what they have heard and learned. Failing to act will lead to their ultimate destruction.
Both of these people have heard the same teaching, yet only one acts on what they have heard. Their resolve led them to be obedient. The example Jesus gives here in Luke 6 is one we are all familiar with, I’m sure. He tells us of the man who is building a house, and he builds it on a foundation that will prevail against storms. He resolved to take the knowledge he had and follow through with constructing his house in the right way. The second man also has been instructed properly on how to construct his house, yet he takes shortcuts and builds it without a foundation, and his house is destroyed with the first storm. His house is lost because he decided to not listen to what he had learned.
Again, and again the scriptures stress the importance of following through with acting on the knowledge we gain, of resolving to fulfill the directions which Jehovah has taught us.
The book of James alludes to this in James 2. James talks about those who see and find a needy brother or sister and instead of doing something in order to meet their needs they just wish them well. Seeing those in need, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ, and not resolving to help them, to see to their needs is what James describes in chapter 2. In verse 17 he declares that:
“17…faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
James 2:17
Just hearing and knowing what Jehovah would have us do to obey him is not enough. One aspect of that obedience is following through with what that knowledge tells us to do. In the new year, and in fact every single year until we breath our last we need to resolve to obey His word, resolve to do the work that will justify our faith.
5) God honors those who resolve to follow Him
So, does Jehovah respond when we resolve to follow His word? Well let’s do what we should do with all things spiritual we want to find an answer to… Let’s turn to His word.
In the book of Jeremiah, Jehovah tells us in chapter 29:13 that:
“29 You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13
This tells us Jehovah has his eye on us and when we seek Him, seek His truth, He will let us find Him. He is not hiding from us, He is alive and there for us, we have only to deny ourselves (Luke 9:23), deny the pressures of the world and resolve to seek Him out in truth and in spirit and we will find Him, find the answers we seek.
Conclusion: We must resolve today to follow Him.
You know Jehovah isn’t calling us to be perfectly obedient. He is not looking for us to not make mistakes. He knows we will, after all He made us, He knows our shortcomings and He has provided measures for Christians to be forgiven of those shortcomings.
What He IS doing is looking for us to resolve to be obedient – to have decisive obedience. And not someday, not tomorrow, not later, not when we have accomplished worldly goals, not when life slows down around us. He wants us to understand what He wants today, He wants us to resolve to give our lives over to His instructions today… now.
A man once told himself, “I’ll get serious about God when things slow down.” When the kids were older. When work wasn’t so demanding. When life felt more settled.
But life never slowed down—it sped up.
One morning, a health scare stopped him cold. Lying in a hospital bed, he realized something sobering: he had planned for a future obedience that was never guaranteed. He hadn’t rejected God—he had postponed Him. And in the delay, years had quietly passed.
That day, he didn’t make a promise about tomorrow. He made a decision for today. He prayed, not eloquently, but honestly. He opened his Bible, not to catch up, but to begin. The change didn’t start with a dramatic turnaround—it started with a resolved heart in the present moment.
Resolve that waits is rarely resolve at all. Scripture is clear:
“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Hebrews 3:15
God does not ask for someday obedience. He calls for faithfulness now.
Paul reinforces this in his second letter to the church at Corinth when he tells us in chapter 6, verse 2:
“2b… now is the favorable time, behold now is the day of salvation.”
2 Corinthians 6:2
Salvation isn’t just belief in Jehovah God and His son Jesus. The Bible says that even the demons believe in Jehovah God (James 2:19). So just hearing God’s word and believing in God is not enough for salvation or else Heaven would have a lot of demons in it, which it won’t.
We must turn from our sinful life, and we must resolve to obey God we must confess to all who will hear that we believe Jesus is the son of the one true God. Then we must be totally immersed beneath a body of water in baptism. And when we arise from that water, we arise obedient to the resolution we have made to follow God. But it doesn’t end there. Like we said a moment ago, Jehovah doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but he does expect us to give Him our heart and to come to Him when we have sinned and ask for forgiveness as we continue in our resolve to live our life for Him.
There won’t be a better time than now to make the resolution for this year and for the rest of our lives to obey Jehovah’s will.
Comments