Encouraging Verses to Keep You Focused on That New Year’s Resolution

Bethany Pyle Editor, BibleStudyTools.com
Updated Mar 20, 2023

The clock has struck midnight, and the new year has begun! This is the one, you think. This is the year I’m going to [inset grand plans here]. Maybe you want to get in better physical shape, or eat healthier. Maybe you want to finally finish that project you started a year (or three) ago. Maybe you hope to finally read the Bible from cover to cover.

All are praiseworthy goals! And as believers, we should never be content with stagnating in life. We should always be striving to grow and improve ourselves. But change is often hard. We commit to start running more frequently, but then comes a cold, rainy day, or that old hip pain, and we think hmm not today. We genuinely want to spend more time in Scripture, but then we hit Leviticus, or the genealogies, and we think maybe I’ll read this passage tomorrow.

Right now, with the New Year still fresh, you are probably feeling pretty gung-ho about your resolution. And that’s great! But life will keep marching on, and if you have any hope of completing this goal, you’re going to need some encouragement. Here’s a few quick tried-and-true tips to keep up with your commitments, whatever they be:

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3 Tips to Help Your New Year’s Resolution Actually Succeed

1. Share your goals with as many people as you feel comfortable with.

You don’t have to post about your private weight-loss goals on Facebook if you aren’t comfortable with that. But accountability is crucial when you are trying to make a big change. Tell your close friends. Tell your household. Tell your parents or siblings. Have some people in your life who will check in on your goal.

2. Make your goals manageable and measurable.

When I was in college, I’d frequently have the goal to “run more.” Well, what does that mean? It’s too vague. If you’d like to exercise more frequently, set a solid, measurable goal: I’m going to run twice a week, or I’m going to go to the gym every weekend. Don’t go overboard either – if you optimistically say “I’m going to run five days a week,” while you spent the last year running zero days a week, then you are setting yourself up for failure. Start small, and build up from there.

3. Don’t lose hope when you stumble.

I’m happy to say I’ve set some New Year’s resolutions in the past that I did successfully complete. But there were plenty of days when I didn’t do everything perfectly. One year, I planned to journal something from that day every night. And often, after vacations or sick days, I’d have to have some catch-up days where I’d journal the past few days in one night. That’s ok! If you miss a day of your Bible reading or workout, don’t throw in the towel. Get up the next day and start again. Just keep at it.

In addition to all these tips (and the thousands of others you can find all over the Internet), we can turn to Scripture for encouragement. God is personal. We know this because Jesus came to earth to spend decades living among us; He cares about our everyday lives. So there are plenty of verses in His Word that can encourage you as you seek to challenge and better yourself.

Here are a couple of verses that I hope can encourage you as your start this New Year’s journey. Write a few down if they resonate with you, and put them somewhere you will see them often. Write these words on your heart, and allow them to encourage you not just in your resolution, but in all areas of your life where you are being challenged.

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Verses for Exercise Goals

Whether you want to run, swim, practice yoga, or just take more frequent walks, may these verses encourage you in your fitness goals. Remember that your body is a gift from God, and in addition to physical exercise, it also needs food and rest! May you honor God this year in your workouts.

“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26).

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31).

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Verses for Dieting Goals

Dieting and losing weight can be so difficult at times, but I pray that these verses will lift you up, no matter how it’s going. And while focusing on eating healthy is a good thing, remember to listen to your body and give it the healthy fuel that it needs. Be patient, and remember that God made you, and He loves all parts of you. May you honor God this year with your weight loss goals.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth” (Psalm 139:13-15).

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25).

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Verses for Scripture Reading Goals

If you are trying to read the whole Bible, or just read it more frequently, you’ll likely find a lot of these verses along the way! God has a lot to say in His Word about how important it is! Remember, you don’t have to be a Bible scholar to read the Bible. It’s ok to be confused or even overwhelmed at times. Ask God for wisdom as you encounter confusing passages, and let the truth of Scripture soak into your soul. May you honor God this year with your Scripture reading goals.

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men” (Acts:17:11-12).

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

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Verses for Relationship Goals

After a year plus of social distancing and isolation, many of us are ready to get out and dive into community this year. Whether that’s getting more involved in your church, with a friend group, or opening yourself up to romantic relationships, may these verses encourage you! Remember that people are messy (yes, that includes you!) but we are not meant to live life alone. May you honor God this year in your relationship goals.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

“The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’” (Genesis 2:18).

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity” (Proverbs 17:17).

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited” (Romans 12:16).

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-15).

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).

Peaceful woman with eyes closed and hands over her chest

Verses to Encourage You Always

Maybe you don’t have a set New Year’s resolution, but you just want to do better or feel better this new year. I get it. If you need some general encouragement for the months ahead, then I pray these verses will speak power into your soul. Know that you are dearly beloved by the most powerful being in existence. God sees you. He loves you. May you abide in that truth this year, and honor Him with every day of your life.

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Philippians 4:13).

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

"For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory" (Deuteronomy 20:4).

"But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

"He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength" (Isaiah 40:29).

“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Bethany Pyle is the editor for Bible Study Tools.com and the design editor for Crosscards.com. She has a background in journalism and a degree in English from Christopher Newport University. When not editing for Salem, she enjoys good fiction and better coffee.