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Preparing the Heart for a New Year in Christ
Author: Dave Jenkins
Date: December 30, 2025
Introduction
As the year comes to a close, many believers begin thinking about resolutions, goals, and plans for what lies ahead.
Scripture calls us to something deeper than productivity or ambition. Before planning the year ahead, God invites His people to prepare their hearts. Entering a new season faithfully requires renewed devotion, clear priorities, and
deep dependence on the Lord. The most important work you do for the coming year happens in your soul. This raises an important question many Christians consider at the turn of the year, “How can believers prepare their hearts for a new year in a way that honors the Lord and strengthens their walk with Christ?”
Remember God’s Faithfulness With Gratitude
Before looking forward, Scripture teaches us to look back. Psalm 77:11–12 calls God’s people to remember the works of the Lord and meditate on what He has done. Gratitude reorients the heart and clears the fog that often comes from fear, disappointment, or discouragement. Take time to reflect on how the Lord has sustained you, corrected you, carried you through trials, provided for your needs, answered prayers, and grown you in Christ. Gratitude prepares the heart for hopeful expectation because it reminds us that the God who was faithful yesterday will be faithful tomorrow.
Close the Year With Repentance and Renewal
True preparation begins with repentance. Psalm 139:23–24 invites the Lord to search our hearts and reveal what needs cleansing. As one year ends, it is wise to ask honest questions before God. Where did you wander, where did pride show up, what habits hindered holiness, what fears replaced faith? Repentance is not meant to burden the believer but to free them. Confession brings clarity, restores joy, and renews fellowship with the Lord. Entering a new year with an unconfessed heart only carries unnecessary weight forward.
Recommit to Pursuing Christ Above All Else
Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:33 that the priority of the Christian life is to seek first the kingdom of God. A new year
brings many distractions, some joyful and some difficult. But nothing matters more than walking faithfully with
Christ. Preparing your heart means setting your aim on regular Scripture intake, meaningful prayer, active fellowship, joyful obedience, and holiness of heart and life. Christ must be the center, not an afterthought squeezed into a crowded schedule.
Choose Godly Priorities Over Worldly Measures
The world defines success by productivity, prosperity, and platform. God defines success by faithfulness. Preparing
your heart for a new year includes asking questions shaped by eternity. What does God want me to value this year,
where does He desire growth, how can I love others more intentionally, what eternal things need my attention? Godly priorities shape godly living. When the heart is aligned with God’s purposes, daily decisions follow in the right direction.
Entrust Your Plans to the Sovereign Will of God
Proverbs 16:9 reminds us that the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. Planning is wise,
but holding plans with open hands is essential. Preparing your heart means resting in the God who rules every moment of the coming year. Your security is not found in schedules or resolutions but in a faithful Savior. Trusting God’s sovereignty brings peace when plans change and confidence when the future feels uncertain.
Pray for Wisdom, Courage, and Perseverance
James 1:5 promises wisdom to those who ask. Preparing your heart for the new year requires prayerful dependence on the Lord. Ask God for wisdom to discern His will, courage to obey, perseverance to endure trials, humility to depend on Him, compassion to love others, and boldness to share the gospel. Prayer shapes the heart for faithful living and guards against reliance on self rather than trust in God.
Commit to Christ-Centered Community
The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. Hebrews 10:24–25 calls believers to fellowship that encourages
holiness, accountability, and perseverance. Preparing for a new year includes committing to the local church and
cultivating meaningful Christian relationships. God often uses faithful brothers and sisters to strengthen our walk, steady our faith, and remind us of truth when we grow weary.
Fix Your Hope on Christ Alone
A new year cannot save you, satisfy you, or sustain you. Only Christ can. Hebrews 13:8 reminds us that Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Our hope is not in a fresh calendar but in a faithful Savior who never
changes.
Preparing your heart for a new year is not about resolutions or productivity. It is about seeking Christ, trusting
His Word, resting in His promises, and walking in His grace. When the heart is prepared this way, the year ahead is
entered with clarity, joy, and steadfast hope.
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Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in beautiful Southern Oregon. Dave is a lover of Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology. He serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, the Host and Producer of Equipping You in Grace Podcast, and is a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word. He is the author of The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022), and Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, or read his newsletter. Dave loves to spend time with his wife, going to movies, eating at a nice restaurant, or going out for a round of golf with a good friend. He is also a voracious reader, in particular of Reformed theology, and the Puritans. You will often find him when he’s not busy with ministry reading a pile of the latest books from a wide variety of Christian publishers. Dave received his M.A.R. and M.Div through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
