January has a way of waking up our instincts for self improvement. For many of us, myself included, when it gets to about the end of October I think, Oh, I’ll just start that next year. That habit can wait until next year. That change can wait. I’ll deal with it when the calendar flips.
So January comes, and I do what I always do. I make lists, set goals, most of the time the same ones I promised myself I would do this year, and I promise myself that this year will be different. More disciplined, intentional, and more of everything I think I’ve been missing.
In a way, none of these desires are bad. Wanting growth and change is, and should be, part of being human. But somewhere beyond the surface level of resolutions and carefully crafted a-z plans, there’s a deeper question that I tend to push down:
What if I follow through on all of this, and nothing really changes?
I’ve had years where I kept the habits, checked the boxes, and still felt the same patterns resurface. Still woke up with the same apprehensions, and still carried the same unfinished questions in the corners of my heart. It’s confusing because self improvement can change what we do, but it can’t always touch the deeper parts of who we are.
That’s where the Christian story begins to sound different, not at the level of “better strategies”, but at the level of presence.
Instead of starting with try harder, Scripture begins with I am with you. Jesus knew His followers would be afraid of what life would look like without Him literally beside them. They weren’t looking for principles or hacks. What they needed presence…so He made a promise:
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you… He is the Holy Spirit.”
- John 14:16
At Grace we affirm that the Holy Spirit is not distant or abstract, but He is God’s presence with and within us, guiding, comforting, and empowering us from the inside out. You can see this reflected in our beliefs about the Holy Spirit as fire, wind, and breath. Not as an idea, but as a life giving presence.
Read more about what we believe
This kind of transformation isn’t about adding another habit to your to do list. We want to allow the Spirit to dwell more richly in us, shaping us from the inside out, in our thoughts, our desires, and the way we relate to the world.
Where self improvement asks, What should I fix? The Spirit wants us to ask, What if you didn’t have to do this alone?
The Spirit doesn’t only nudge us toward better behavior, but draws us into truth. He empowers us with gifts meant for shared life and knits us into community. He is able to breathe life into places that feel dry and broken.
What I have learned is that this is not transformation as a project, but transformation as presence.
If you want to explore this more personally, there are resources that might help beyond this blog. We have a devotional on the Holy Spirit that reflects on how Jesus described the Spirit’s role, as Helper, Advocate, and Guide, and what that means for daily life. We also share stories of the Spirit at work in real people’s lives, like A 180 With the Holy Spirit, which you can find in our Articles section. These are invitations to notice what the Spirit might already be doing in you.
Ask yourself “What if this year isn’t about becoming someone better?”.
Maybe it’s about letting the One who already lives in you do what only He can do, transform you from the inside out. More than any resolution, that is worth pursuing.