“In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.” (2 Peter 1:5–9 NLT)

 

Many people make resolutions this time of the year. Some are going to swear off alcohol or smoking or social media or unhealthy eating. Others are going to try to change destructive habits like gossip or worry or losing their temper. Many people will try to start new habits like exercising. Health clubs love the beginning of the year because people love to commit to going to the gym and working out three to five times a week. The problem is, most people never follow through on their resolutions because they weren’t serious in the first place.

There are other, more important, resolutions for you to focus on as we begin 2026. There are godly habits to develop and ungodly habits to break. Horace Mann once said, “Habit is a cable; we weave a thread each day, and at last we cannot break it.” That can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the habit. This New Year, make a concerted effort to develop godly habits—habits that cannot be broken and that will build others up in their love for the Lord.

The words of the apostle Peter in 2 Peter 1:5–9 offer a good starting point. “In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins” (NLT).

Peter emphasizes that difference-making spiritual growth is a process. It doesn’t involve reaching certain plateaus according to a specific timetable. The important thing is that we prioritize spiritual growth in our life, that we make consistent progress as we grow in our relationship with Christ. That’s the kind of habit we should pursue. That’s the kind of resolution we should strive for.

 

Reflection question: How can you apply the words of 2 Peter 1:5–9 as you work to develop godly habits—or break ungodly habits—in 2026? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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