A New Year Invitation: Not a Resolution, but a Relationship

At the heart of our faith is not a set of rules or religious habits, but a relationship. God is pursuing our hearts. He desires a real and intimate relationship with us, one marked by trust, honesty, and closeness. From the beginning, God has been speaking, revealing Himself, and inviting us to know Him. He continues to speak today, but the challenge is that we often miss His voice.

We miss it partly because life is loud. Responsibilities pile up. Our minds stay busy. Our emotions feel stretched thin. But Scripture also reminds us that the Enemy is real and actively works to distract, discourage, and distort. He does not need to convince us to reject God altogether. Often, it is enough to keep us overwhelmed, confused, or dependent on secondhand understanding rather than personal relationship.

This is why reading the Bible matters. Scripture is not simply information. It is how God reveals His character, His heart, and His truth. Without Scripture, we are left to interpret God through our circumstances, our emotions, or our past wounds. That can quietly shape a view of God that is incomplete or inaccurate. God’s Word grounds us. It helps us recognize His voice and remain anchored in truth. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

We see this modeled clearly in the life of Jesus. Though He was fully God and fully human, Jesus consistently quoted Scripture. When He was tempted in the wilderness, He responded not with emotion, reasoning, or personal opinion, but with the written Word of God (Matthew 4; Luke 4). When He taught, corrected, and revealed the heart of the Father, He often pointed people back to Scripture. Jesus did not treat God’s Word as optional or secondary. He lived rooted in it. If Jesus relied on Scripture to remain aligned with the Father’s will, it reminds us how essential God’s Word is for knowing God rightly and walking with Him faithfully.

Many people genuinely long for this kind of relationship with God, yet feel overwhelmed by the Bible. It feels hard to understand. It feels time consuming. And when life is already full, Scripture can begin to feel intimidating rather than invitational. If that has been your experience, I want you to know this. You are not alone. I have been there too.

This desire for clarity often shows up in how we approach church and spiritual learning.

Why Corporate Worship and Teaching Matter but Are Not a Substitute

Here is a gentle but important truth. A relationship with God cannot be sustained through exposure alone. Corporate worship matters. Faithful preaching and teaching matter. Community matters deeply. These are gifts God has given to shape, encourage, and mature His people. But they were never meant to replace personally knowing God through His Word.

Think about this through the lens of dating. Imagine trying to build a relationship with someone by only hearing about them through other people. Friends might describe their character, values, and intentions, and those insights can be helpful, especially when those friends are wise and trustworthy. But eventually, if the relationship is going to be real and intimate, you want to hear directly from the person themselves. You want to know their heart in their own words.

In a similar way, corporate worship invites us to respond to God together, while preaching and teaching help explain and apply what God has already revealed in Scripture. These are essential and biblically grounded, yet they are still mediated through human voices. That is why they were never meant to stand alone.

God invites us into something deeply personal. He invites us to hear from Him directly through Scripture, where His character, His heart, and His truth are revealed. Corporate worship, preaching, and teaching are meant to support and deepen that relationship, not substitute for it.

Why Knowing God’s Character Changes Everything

Understanding God’s character is foundational to spiritual and emotional health. When we do not know who God is, we naturally fill in the gaps with our own assumptions, past wounds, or unmet expectations. Some people relate to God as if He is constantly disappointed. Others see Him as distant or uninvolved. Still others approach Him as if He is a genie who exists to fix problems, remove discomfort, or answer prayers on demand. Each of these views eventually leads to disappointment because none of them reflect who God truly is.

When God is seen as a genie, prayer can become transactional. We pray primarily to get something. When the answer does not come in the way we hoped, faith can begin to feel fragile or confusing. But God is not a means to an end. He is a relational, holy, redemptive God who is forming us, not simply managing our circumstances. Without understanding His character, it becomes easy to misinterpret His silence as absence, His correction as punishment, or His timing as lack of care.

This is also where the Enemy subtly works. If he can keep us from knowing God’s character, he can influence how we interpret everything else. God’s silence may feel like abandonment. God’s correction may feel like punishment. God’s timing may feel like neglect. These distortions rarely arrive through dramatic moments. More often, they grow quietly through distance from truth.

This does not mean we should be fearful or hyper focused on spiritual warfare. God is not fragile, and we are not unprotected. Scripture reminds us that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Staying rooted in God’s Word is not about defense through fear, but about clarity and peace that come through relationship. When we truly know who God is, lies lose their power.

Prayer and Scripture Belong Together

Prayer is absolutely essential. God calls us to talk to Him even though He already knows our thoughts. Prayer builds dependence, trust, and intimacy. But imagine continuing to talk to someone you are dating without ever learning who they are. You might share your heart freely and still misunderstand them deeply. You could assume motives that are not true. You might feel disappointed again and again because you never took time to understand their values, their perspective, or the heart from which they speak and act.

In the same way, prayer without Scripture can leave us relating to a version of God we have created rather than the God who has revealed Himself.

Scripture anchors us in truth. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would help us understand God’s Word. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). We were never meant to navigate Scripture alone. Understanding unfolds over time through relationship, not instant clarity. And it is truly okay not to understand everything right away.

Grace and Truth in God’s Redemptive Story

From beginning to end, the Bible reveals God’s redemptive love. His heart has always been to pursue, restore, and redeem, while never compromising truth. In Jesus, we see grace and truth held together perfectly. This matters deeply because grace without truth leaves us unchanged, and truth without grace leaves us crushed.

Knowing God’s character allows us to receive conviction without shame, correction without fear, and grace without distortion. It protects us from reshaping God into something more comfortable or more controllable than He truly is.

What Helped Me Stay Consistent

I share this from personal experience. For the past two years, I have gone through The Bible Recap using a 365 day chronological reading plan. The first year, I did it on my own. The second year, I did it with my husband, James, and with dear friends. It was not always easy, but accountability and shared encouragement made a meaningful difference. Showing up mattered more than doing it perfectly.

We also found rhythms that worked for our lives. James read first thing in the morning. I often read while drinking my coffee. One year I relied on a digital Bible. Another year I followed along in a physical Bible while listening to audio. Different seasons required different approaches, and that flexibility allowed consistency to grow.

Releasing Perfection and Choosing Faithfulness

As a therapist, I see how easily overwhelm and perfectionism can derail growth, both emotionally and spiritually. Many people believe that if they cannot do something well or consistently, they should not try at all. God does not relate to us that way. He is unchanging, stable, and patient. He honors faithfulness, not performance.

All of this brings us back to the heart of what this new year invites.

An Invitation for This Year

As you step into this New Year, I want to invite you to release spiritual pressure and lean into spiritual relationship. Worship is essential. Prayer is essential. Community is essential. But they were never meant to function without personally knowing God through His Word.

This year, instead of chasing resolutions, pursue relationship. Scripture describes David as a man after God’s own heart, not because he lived flawlessly, but because he kept turning his heart toward God. Open Scripture not to check a box or get something from God, but to go after His heart. Trust that the Holy Spirit will guide you, meet you in your questions, and gently shape your heart as you learn who God truly is.

Prayer

Lord, You see the desire in our hearts to know You, even when we feel overwhelmed or unsure where to begin. Thank You for Your patience, Your grace, and Your steady presence. Help us approach Your Word without fear, trusting that You will meet us there. Teach us who You are. Anchor us in Your truth. Draw us closer to You this year, not through striving, but through relationship. In Jesus’s Name. Amen.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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