Anyone can commit, but not everyone can remain steadfast in that commitment. Why? Because the problem of commitment often does not lie in a busy schedule, nor in capability, nor in the availability of resources, but in the condition of the heart. When not guarded with vigilance, our hearts can easily become shaken, and a shaken heart will eventually collapse the commitment we once tried to uphold.
Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Word of God says that the Lord will give “a new heart and a new spirit” to His people (Ezek. 36:26). The “heart” in this verse refers to the center of morality, will, and the orientation of human life. Meanwhile, “spirit” speaks of the dimension of God-given strength that enables us to obey His will. When God gives a new heart and a new spirit, it means He renews who we are and what—or who—moves us from within.
Perhaps last year, we made commitments before God that we did not fulfill. Many commitments fail not because we didn’t try hard enough, but because our hearts were not fully healed from past wounds. A wounded heart is difficult to live in commitment. A heart that has not learned to let go of the past will struggle to look toward the future. And a heart that God has not renewed tends to seek self-justification rather than genuine repentance. Therefore, before we make new vows or restart old commitments, the most important thing we must do is allow God to touch and renew our hearts first.
We often assume that commitments collapse due to poor time management or a lack of a proper strategy. But in reality, the breaking of commitment usually begins with small things deep within: unresolved disappointments, buried emotional wounds, guilt never surrendered to God, anxiety left unmanaged, or even spiritual exhaustion ignored. Outwardly, we may appear fine—still present, still serving, still smiling—but deep inside, our hearts have lost the inner drive to remain faithful.
Therefore, before expecting our commitments to become stronger this year, we must be honest with ourselves: a sick heart can never produce a healthy commitment. The healing of the heart is not an instant process; it is a journey with God as we fully open ourselves to be reconciled, healed, and realigned by Him. Only a heart restored by God can uphold a steadfast commitment.
Ezekiel 36:27 continues, “I will put My Spirit within you, and I will cause you to walk in My statutes, keep My ordinances, and do them.” This verse confirms that our ability to live according to God’s statutes does not come from human strength, but from the work of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Spiritual commitment is not merely a list of resolutions written at the beginning of the year; spiritual commitment is the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s work in a person’s life.
Someone may write a long, impressive list of commitments—to pray more, serve more seriously, read the Bible more diligently, and so on—but without the help of the Holy Spirit, all of that will become nothing more than dry routines. But under the Holy Spirit’s guiding work, commitment becomes a space of formation. Commitment becomes the place where God grows us, strengthens our character, and turns us into the person He desires us to be—little by little, day by day.
This year, let us build commitment from a heart restored, softened, strengthened, and filled with the Holy Spirit. A commitment born from a transformed heart will endure because its foundation is deep love for God, not merely temporary emotions that come and go.