Resolutions
Thriving in the Morning | Wednesday
As you listen, imagine Jesus sitting with you, gently asking, “Do you love Me?” Let the melody draw your heart closer to Him as you reflect on your response.
“So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
— John 21:15
Jesus has a wonderful way of restoring us when we fail Him! He does not humiliate us. He does not criticize us. He does not ask us to make a resolution to try harder. Rather, He takes us aside and asks us to reaffirm our love for Him.
Peter miserably failed his Lord when he fled with the other disciples from the Garden of Gethsemane. Later, he publicly denied that he even knew Jesus. Peter must have wondered if he had been capable of being Jesus’ disciple when he was unfaithful to Jesus in His most crucial hour.
As you begin a new year, you may be painfully aware that you have failed your Lord in many ways. Perhaps you were not faithful. Perhaps you disobeyed His word to you. Perhaps you denied Him by the way you lived. Jesus will take you aside, as He did Peter. He will not berate you. He will not humiliate you. He will ask you to examine your love for Him. He asked Peter, “Do you love Me?" If your answer, like Peter's, is “Yes, Lord,” He will reaffirm His will for you. If you truly love Him, you will obey Him (John 14:15). Jesus does not need your resolutions, your recommitments, or your promises to try harder this year. If your resolve to obey God last year did not help you to be faithful, it will not make you successful this year. Jesus asks for your love. If you truly love Him, your service for Him in the new year will be of the quality that He desires.
From Experiencing God Daily Devotionals (c) 1998 by Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby
Meditate the Word.
As you step into this new year, let your heart be anchored in the love of Christ. Resolutions built on our strength often fail, but love for Jesus transforms and sustains. When you love Him more than anything else, your life will reflect His purpose, and your year will be filled with His peace and joy.
Jesus gently asks, “Do you love Me more than these?” Let this be a year of reaffirming your love for Him through every decision, every action, and every quiet moment with Him.
🌱 How has Jesus shown His grace and restoration to you despite your past failures?
🌱 What does it mean for you to love Jesus more than anything else in your life?
🌱 What distractions or “these” (as in John 21:15) might be hindering you from fully loving and following Christ?
True resolutions are not made with words but with the heart that loves God deeply
and desires to obey Him fully.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your gentle and restoring love. Jesus, we love You. Teach us to love You above all else and to express that love through obedience and service. Help us to leave behind distractions and fully embrace the purpose You have for us in this new year. Holy Spirit, guide us daily to live lives that glorify You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
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