Last year, we imagined this would be the year we’d finally be free from anxiety. We bought shiny new planners hoping this will finally be the year we arrive on time and never forget a birthday again. We made vows never to touch “x” products again—whether it be chocolate, coffee, screen time, or the like. Daily Bible reading plans began, full of abundant hope.

We pictured ourselves encouraging other anxious people by saying they too can find healing and peace. We pictured ourselves swinging our feet over the side of the bed and smiling into the new morning anxiety free.

Instead, there’s still no step-by-step plan to be anxiety free.

And so, those planners became dusty and shoved to the back of the desk drawer. “X” product got picked up again. The Bible reading plan stopped in Leviticus. Old anxieties and difficulties crept back up on us.

We wait expectantly for January 1st, assuming when we wake up that morning we’ll be sprinkled with pixie dust that cures it all. Sadly, many of us have discovered there is nothing special about January 1st, as the familiar grip of anxiety returns.

But there is something special about you, if you hold faith in Christ and are kept by Him. You have the Holy Spirit living inside you, who gives you the ability to change and grow each day (Romans 8:1–17).

By God’s grace, he offers us new mercies with each sunrise. “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning” (Lamentations 3:22–23). We may fall behind, and we may continue to face anxiety just as we did last year, yet God’s love remains unchanged and faithful.

There comes a point when people usually give up on their New Year’s resolutions. But you have God’s grace and his Spirit. Even when we stumble and fall behind, with old anxieties resurfacing, God’s love remains unchanged and unshakeable.

There will come a point when the world usually gives up on their New Year resolutions.

But you have God’s grace and His Spirit. When January 1st isn’t the cure-all you hoped for, God forgives and empowers you to keep trusting. His grace doesn’t simply come at salvation but continues for your entire race of the faith.

“I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6). The God of peace will make you holy in every way; he will keep your whole spirit, soul, and body blameless until our Lord Jesus comes again. “God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful” (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24).

Even after January 1, let’s place our hope in God each day, releasing our anxieties, and resting in the steady power of the Holy Spirit.

To hear more about having courage in the face of anxiety, listen for the next 5 minutes to our interview with Lara!

*For deeper reflection, listen to Romans 8 today!