How to Start the New Year Seeking God

As we approach the New Year, our world bombards us with messages about fresh starts, new beginnings, and self-improvement. Everywhere we turn, someone is talking about resolutions, goal-setting, and making this year “the best year yet.” The pressure to have it all figured out, to craft the perfect vision board, and to finally become the person we’ve always wanted to be can feel quite overwhelming…

But before we dive into asking “What will I accomplish this year?” we need to pause and ask a different question: “Whose plans am I following?”

“The heart of man plans his course, but Adonai directs his steps.”

proverbs 16:9 tlv

This Scripture from Proverbs reveals something crucial about how we as followers of Yeshua should approach the New Year. We can make all the plans we want, but ultimately, it’s God who directs our steps. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make any plans at all, the question isn’t whether we should plan, it’s whose agenda we’re pursuing when we do.

The Problem with Self-Made Plans

As we start making our New Year’s resolutions, what we might not realize is that we have subscribed to what we might call the “gospel of personal achievement”…We might think what we’re doing is right because we pray over our goals, we ask God to bless our plans, we might even fast for direction, but if we’re honest with ourselves, we’d realize that we’re often leading with our plans and then asking God to join us, rather than seeking His direction first.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to work…The Scriptures are clear about the danger of relying on our own understanding:

“Trust in Adonai with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

proverbs 3:5-6 tlv

Notice that order? Trust Him first, don’t lean on your own understanding, acknowledge Him in all your ways. Then—and only then—He makes your paths straight.

The prophet Jeremiah understood this truth deeply, he said in Jeremiah 10:23, “I know, Adonai, that a man’s way is not his own, nor does man, as he walks, direct his steps.”

We weren’t designed to chart our own course independent of God, and when we try to, we’re operating in functional self-reliance, even if we’ve disguised it with prayer. This is the subtle trap—we spend hours crafting goals, mapping out strategies, setting milestones to track—and then we bring our completed plans to God and ask Him to bless what we’ve already decided. It’s like drawing up blueprints for a house and then asking the architect to approve them after the foundation has already been poured…kind of backwards right?

Identity Before Activity: Who Are We?

How many times have you been asked, “What do you do?”…This question quickly becomes how we define ourselves, but God asks a fundamentally different question: “Do you know whose you are?”

This distinction changes everything. We’re not self-made individuals trying to improve ourselves through better goals and stronger willpower, “we are His workmanship—created in Messiah Yeshua for good deeds which God prepared beforehand so we might walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 TLV). Identity precedes activity. Our doing flows from our being. So who are we as believers?

We are children of God. 
“But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God.” – John 1:12 TLV

We are citizens of His Kingdom. 
“For our citizenship is in heaven, and from there we eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.” – Philippians 3:20 TLV

We are His disciples, called to imitate our Rabbi. 
“Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked.” – 1 John 2:6 TLV

We are temples of the Ruach ha-Kodesh.
“Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Ruach ha-Kodesh who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” – 1 Corinthians 6:19 TLV

All throughout Scripture, we see our identity made crystal clear…When we understand who we are in Messiah, it transforms how we approach the New Year. We’re not trying to become someone God will finally approve of. Instead, we are already His beloved children, learning to walk in the good ways that He has prepared for us!

Seeking God’s Face vs. His Hand

There’s a crucial difference between asking God to join our agenda and surrendering to His agenda…When we seek God’s hand, we want His blessings and provision for our plans, but when we seek God’s face, we pursue who He is—His character, His ways, His heart. We’re seeking relationship, not just results.

Dan Juster captures this beautifully: “The Kingdom message is the promise that God will put all things in our lives into His right order, Kingdom order, Torah in the New Covenant. The Kingdom message is the promise for our personal lives, families, communities, businesses, artistry, and so much more.”

God’s promise isn’t to bless our order—it’s to establish His right order. We’re not called to create our own path and ask God to make it successful. We’re called to discover His path and walk in it. This requires: Praying and listening not just talking at God, but waiting to hear from Him, making space for silence. Studying His Word so we can learn God’s character and ways and recognize His direction. Being sensitive to the Ruach’s leading seeing how the Holy Spirit guides daily decisions, not just ministry moments. Finding discernment through community being part of a believing community, as God often speaks through our brothers and sisters in Messiah.

“Delight yourself in Adonai, and He will give you the requests of your heart. Commit your way to Adonai. Trust in Him, and He will do it.”

Psalms 37:4-5 TLV

Delight, commit, trust. When we follow this pattern, our hearts align with His purposes—not because He’s granting our wish list, but because we’re actively wanting what He wants.

Practical Application: A Different Approach

So what does it actually look like to start the New Year seeking God’s direction instead of just setting our own goals?

Start With Surrender

Before you write a single goal, ask: “Lord, what do YOU want for me this year?”

Then wait, actually wait—Make space for God to speak. He might bring a specific Scripture to mind, impress something on your heart, or give you peace about a direction.
This isn’t a one-time prayer, it is an ongoing posture throughout the year. We should be routinely asking: “God, what are YOU doing, and how can I join You?”

Ask Kingdom Questions

Instead of asking “What do I want to accomplish?”, ask Kingdom questions:

• Where is God already working in my life?
• What areas am I still trying to control instead of surrendering to His rule?
• How can I serve His Kingdom this year?
• What does loving God and neighbor look like practically for me?

These questions can shift our focus from personal achievement to Kingdom participation—from our agenda to His purposes.

Release Ungodly Expectations

This might be the hardest step: letting go…
Let go of burdens we were never meant to carry—responsibilities God never gave us, outcomes we can’t control, guilt over failures already forgiven. Let go of past hurts—Unforgiveness blocks us from moving forward in God’s purposes. The New Year isn’t just about what we’re moving toward—it’s also about what we’re leaving behind. Let go of what we can’t control—Yeshua asked, “And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:27 TLV). God is inviting us to trust Him with the things we’re trying to manage on our own.

“Commit whatever you do to Adonai, and your plans will succeed.”

Proverbs 16:3 TLV

An Invitation to Trust

As we stand at the threshold of a New Year, we have a choice to make.

Will we approach it the way the rest of the world does—with self-made plans and determination to finally get it right this time? Or will we approach it God’s way—with surrender, trust, and a commitment to seek His Kingdom first? This choice requires trust…Will you trust Him enough to seek His direction before making your plans?

“Know therefore that Adonai your God, He is God—the faithful God who keeps covenant kindness for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His mitzvot.”

Deuteronomy 7:9 TLV

A year lived under God’s direction will be more fruitful than any we could plan ourselves—not because circumstances will be perfect, but because we’ll walk in alignment with His purposes.

The Kingdom of God isn’t something we build through our best efforts. It’s something we enter by grace and participate in through surrender, allowing Him to put all things in our lives into His right order.

God wants to do more in us and through us than we could ask or imagine, but it starts with surrender—seeking His face, not just His hand, and asking what He wants instead of telling Him what we want…

May this New Year be one where you walk closely with the One who directs your steps!