Fixate
Happy New Year!
As we step into another new year, it feels especially meaningful to pause, to look back at 2025 and to look ahead to 2026. God, in His kindness, has given us these moments in time that invite reflection. They become opportunities to remember His faithfulness, to realign our hearts, and to move forward with expectation. As we reflect on 2025 and prayerfully anticipate 2026, we are reminded of the goodness of God in sustaining us as well as giving us an unshakable Kingdom.
With the new year often comes the urge to set goals and resolutions. And you may have already abandoned one (or a few), well, you’re not alone. According to market research by Drive Research, about 23% of adults quit their New Year’s resolutions by the end of the first week of January, and the second Friday of January—often around January 9–10—is widely known as “Quitter’s Day.”
The reality is that many of our resolutions are formed out of our own strength or desires, yet they often echo biblical wisdom. Consider a few common ones:
Go to the gym
“Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” - 1 Timothy 4:7–8
Eat better
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” - 1 Corinthians 6:19–20
Get back to or start attending church / pursue community
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” - Hebrews 10:24–25
While these are good and worthy resolutions, the truth is, they only succeed when they are aligned with Jesus. In fact, it is only in and through Him that we are able to walk them out faithfully. Scripture reminds us that the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. Our striving, and even our goals, were never meant to be separated from His strength.
That is why, as I prayed into the year ahead, the word God placed on my heart for 2026 is:
Fixate
To fixate: “To direct and hold one’s attention firmly and continuously on a single object, idea, or purpose; to remain focused with deliberate intensity and minimal distraction.”
After much reflection and prayer, this word became a guiding focus. The idea of being fixed on Jesus has been a consistent encouragement over the past few years, but in 2026, I want it to continue shaping my reverence for Jesus and how that guides my daily life, especially as commitments, tasks, and deadlines grow.
For me, this means first and foremost being fixated on Jesus. From that place, we then pursue what He has set before us, keeping our attention on what truly needs to be done.
So for 2026, instead of chasing idealized goals (though goals can still be good), choose to fixate on what truly matters.
1. Jesus
To fixate on Jesus is to make Him your focus above all else—your portion and prize, as He is wholly worthy. It is a daily posture of abiding, remaining in Him through Scripture, prayer, obedience, and trust. When we fix our attention on Christ, His character shapes our desires, and His Word defines how we live in the world, but not of it.
2. Your Calling
From that place of fixation on Christ, we fix our eyes on what He has entrusted to us in our callings, passions, and responsibilities. This is not scattered striving, but disciplined faithfulness. Not chasing everything, but stewarding what God has clearly placed before us.
When Jesus is the focal point, everything else aligns. What we pursue is purified. What we prioritize is clarified. What we build is rooted in obedience rather than urgency.
“Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” - Matthew 6:34
Focus on the day ahead. Let the Spirit guide you. Let God carry tomorrow. He cares for you, He loves you, and He is faithfully working all things together for your good and His glory!
3. The Mission
As believers, Jesus is both our portion and our prize, as previously emphasized. As Matthew 28:19 reminds us, going and making disciples is not optional, it is our greatest calling. We are to be fixated on the mission of Jesus, allowing His heart for the lost to shape our daily lives. So may our resolution for 2026 be simple yet eternal: to tell more people the good news of Jesus Christ!
If you’ve already failed a New Year’s resolution, remember this—God’s mercies are new every morning. He does not look at you in disappointment but in delight through the finished work of Jesus Christ, your Savior. Growth does not begin and end on January 1. God is always at work, and His timing is perfect.
All we can truly control is where we fix our eyes. So let us look to Jesus:
“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” - Hebrews 12:2
And as we look to Jesus, we remember His character and what He has done for us - giving us an unshakable Kingdom through the love of God and the finished work of Christ:
“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” - Hebrews 12:28–29
When we truly grasp this truth, our only fitting response is reverence and awe expressed through worship. This is not a checklist of more things to do or fewer mistakes to make, but a life surrendered in joyful obedience to our glorious God.
May this new year bring deeper reverence and greater awe for Jesus as we fix our eyes on Him!
A Prayer for 2026
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the gift of another year. As I look back, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for Your gracious and providential hand that never leaves or forsakes me. Every circumstance bears witness to Your loving care and to Your promise to work all things together for good and for Your glory.
I thank You that He who began a good work in me will surely bring it to completion. I pray that 2026 would be a year marked by persistent faithfulness and deep trust in the holy name of Jesus. As I fix my eyes on the founder and perfecter of my faith, my only fitting response is reverence and awe—for I have received an unshakable Kingdom.
May my days be shaped by constant prayer, growing community, and the abounding joy of the Lord. I surrender this year to You, trusting that You are the sustainer and guide of every step I take. As I begin this new year, may I grow daily in reverence for You and be increasingly formed into the likeness of Christ.
You are the prize of my life, and I give You praise until my final breath—until I meet You face to face. Thank You, Lord.
In Your mighty name I pray,
Amen.
Happy New Year, beloved friends!
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