“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33
For many, the New Year is a time of fresh starts and making New Year’s resolutions. While New Year’s resolutions are great, most of us don’t make it past March with our commitments. Does this mean we should give up on New Year’s resolutions? Not necessarily, but what if we shifted the focus of our resolutions and made them more manageable?
Instead of making our resolutions the destination, what if we made our resolutions part of a larger journey? More importantly, what if we invited the Lord into our process of setting New Year’s resolutions? If we seek Him beforehand, He can guide us in making them and help us stick to them when we rely on Him and His strength instead of our own.
In 2025, we should all desire to grow closer to God. If we put Him first and rely on His strength, He will give us the desires of our hearts and make our paths straight. We can make many good New Year’s resolutions, but the most important resolution should be seeking God and growing closer to Him every day. When we do that, every other resolution will fall into its proper place.
In fact, when we seek God first, our other personal resolutions will become lighter, freer, and easier. We won’t be weary or burdened. As we seek Him, He will guide us in picking healthy resolutions and keeping them all year long.
So no matter what your goals are for the year, here are five ways to seek God first and grow closer to Him in 2025:
1. Read
The Bible is the Word of God. It is how we learn more about Him, fall more in love with Him, and become more like Him. The Bible is where we learn of His love and discover His plan of redemption. In 2025, make it a top priority to be in the Word daily. If you are looking for a reading plan, we have a great one: Read the Bible in a Year Bible Reading Plan. You can also subscribe to have our daily email devotions delivered to your inbox every morning.
2. Rest
For many of us, rest is not easy. We have so much to do, and our to-do lists are constantly growing. Let 2025 be the year we see the deep importance of rest, allow our bodies and minds to rest and heal in the Lord. When God created the world, He rested on the seventh day. Following His example, we are called to rest, too. Rest may look different for each of us. Our rest should be doing things that bring us joy and draw us closer to Him and to our families. There will always be more laundry and dishes to do; take regular time to be with God and the ones you love.
3. Pray
Prayer is how we talk to God. We must communicate with Him regularly to grow closer to Him. We cannot grow in a relationship with someone we don’t talk to. Let’s start and end our days in prayer. We can also pray throughout the day and learn to be more aware of how present God is, even in the mundane moments of our lives.
4. Gather
We are not called to live this life alone. Yes, we have God, but He created us to be with one another. We can’t let busyness or frustration with others keep us from attending church and being together in community. We must prioritize being a part of a local church and even gathering outside of the church with those who love Jesus. As we learn to forgive, be vulnerable, serve, and have fun with other believers, we will find ourselves looking more like Jesus.
5. Give
Our God is generous, and we are called to be like Him. Let 2025 be a year of generosity in which we put the needs of others above our own and trust God to take care of us. We can seek God for people who need help and bless them. We can pray about how much to give in tithes and offerings through our church and through ministries that have gripped our hearts. Pray about partnering with us to see the Bible reach every tribe, tongue, language, and nation. When you partner with Biblica to spread the Word of God, your generosity transforms lives — now and for eternity.
If we do these five simple but powerful things in 2025, our hearts and lives will look different in 2026. Let’s seek God first and allow Him to guide us on this journey!
