Checking In on Our Resolutions by Lauren Davis
By now, many New Year’s resolutions are being tested—the energy has dissipated, not through failure, but simply with the passage of time. Good intentions have met ordinary days. Now is the time to pause and ask: Are we doing what we resolved to do? Scripture doesn’t often use the word resolve, but when it does, it carries weight. One of the clearest examples is Daniel, who “resolved not to defile himself” (Daniel 1:8).
Daniel’s resolve becomes clearer when we consider his setting. Exiled and immersed in an unfamiliar culture, he was offered the abundance of the king’s table—food that looked harmless, even desirable. Yet in that seemingly small choice, Daniel drew a boundary. He declined what went against his Jewish custom, understanding that faithfulness is rarely lost all at once, but formed—or eroded—through the ordinary decisions we make each day.
Defilement rarely announces itself. It seldom arrives as open rebellion, accompanied by an invitation written in dip-pen calligraphy. More often, it comes dressed in normalcy, convenience, or reward—things that feel harmless in isolation but quietly shape what we accept and who we become. Daniel’s resolve reminds us that integrity is not only lost in moments of collapse; it can erode with every accommodating moment we permit.
That raises an important question for us: are we allowing ourselves to be shaped in ways we never intended—day by day, hour by hour? Many of the things that dull our senses and eat away at our resolve don’t confront us loudly. They simply ask less of us than we know we are capable of giving. And when that uneasy sense rises within us—the urge to reset, to resolve again—it may be the soul’s way of responding to those gradual compromises. We know better. We want better.
Perhaps that is why resolutions resurface, even after they’ve faded—like flowers finding their way to sunlight through concrete. They are not evidence of failure, but of awareness. An impression was made. They remind us that change does not happen accidentally. Inner strength must be cultivated before we face the person, circumstance, or event that tests us. Like Daniel, we are often called to decide before the moment presses us to choose.
And all is not lost when resolutions wane. Many motivational thinkers remind us that progress often begins by revisiting what matters—writing things down, clarifying priorities, and adjusting expectations. A resolution can be remade, reshaped, and strengthened. The question may not be about the thing we hoped to change, but what needs to change within us in order to recapture the clarity and conviction we felt when we first resolved to begin. Oh, how the imagination grows when we feed it a seed idea from the soul.
Do you feel it? That renewed desire for resolve? It’s not something to dismiss. It is an invitation to pay attention—and one worth embracing with gratitude.
I’m Lauren—a writer, educator, and novelty quilter with over 30 years of experience in service and sales. I’ve taught high school English, worked as a journalist, and now run Artisan Shop USA, a marketplace supporting handmade artistry and the sharing of faith, family, and country. I’m also a wife, mom, and lifelong lover of storytelling.