Resolution vs Reflection 2: Liberated from the Need to Impress

Still in the first month of the new year, I'm still thinking about a better choice: resolution vs reflection. We started this conversation last week if you want to catch up real quick! Today, I want to highlight another aspect of identity over performance: there is something deeply freeing about coming to this realization: we cannot impress God.

(Want to know a secret? He's already impressed, crazy in love with you!)

I'm not suggesting this because He is distant or unimpressed by faithfulness, but because everything we bring to Him already came from His hand. Every ability, gift, talent, opportunity, and resource we possess was first given by Him. We are not striving to earn God’s approval—we are living from a place of already being loved.

As we step into a new year, maybe you are like me and still feel the quiet pressure to "do" something, prove something, produce something. Make it count. New goals. New plans. New expectations. Even when our intentions are good, it’s easy to drift into performance rather than presence.

But reflection invites us to slow down and ask a different question—not "what more can I do?" but "what is God inviting me to release?"

Resolution vs Reflection: Rather than asking, “What do I want to accomplish this year?” perhaps the better question is, “Who am I becoming in Christ?”

You were never mean to earn God's approval, friend. God is not waiting for us to improve, do anything or prove anything before He delights in us. His love is not dependent on our productivity, our consistency, or our visible fruit. Scripture reminds us that “we love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). His love always comes first.

When we forget this order (we love because He FIRST loved us), we subtly shift into a works-based mindset. We begin to believe that if we serve harder, show up more faithfully, or use our gifts more effectively, then God will be more pleased with us. However, the gospel doesn’t call us to prove our worth—it declares our worth through Christ.

I'm not suggesting it's easy - this is a continual battle with my personality that tends toward perfectionism. I'm constantly reminding myself to shift from "employee of God" back to "child of God". He already loves - it's for to operate from a place of "I'm already His" instead of a place trying to be good enough for Him.

Our obedience is not an audition. It is a response. A reminder that God's measure of success is different than ours: "the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 3:4). Hidden, quiet. This isn't about performance, it's about formation.

Resolution vs Reflection: As you consider the year ahead, pause and ask: Am I living to earn God’s approval—or from the assurance that I already have it?

One of the beautiful byproducts of resting in God’s approval is freedom from the need to impress people.

So much striving comes from the desire to be seen, affirmed, or validated. We may not say it out loud, but it shows up in comparison, people-pleasing, overcommitting, or discouragement when our efforts go unnoticed.

But our validation does not come from others. It comes from the truth that we are God’s creation, made in His image (Genesis 1:27). That identity is not fragile. It doesn’t need defending or decorating.

When we stop chasing approval, we create space for obedience. We stop asking, “will this be impressive?” and start asking, “Is this faithful?”

Resolution vs Reflection: Where in your life might God be inviting you to lay down the need for validation and rest in your identity as His beloved child?

Rather than beginning the year with a list of resolutions rooted in self-improvement, what if we approached this season with prayerful reflection, a different kind of evaluation?

Not with guilt or pressure, but with humility and openness before the Holy Spirit.

Reflection allows us to examine our stewardship—not to measure success, but to align our hearts. It invites us to ask honest questions about how we are using what God has entrusted to us.

• What gifts or abilities am I neglecting or setting aside?
• What resources am I using primarily for myself?
• Are there areas where my actions look selfless on the outside, but my motives still need refining?
• Where have fear, comparison, or the desire to impress shaped my decisions?

These questions are not meant to condemn us. They are invitations to deeper surrender.

Reflection vs Resolution: Remember that these questions are not meant to condemn us. They are invitations to deeper surrender.

God is not asking us to do more. He is asking us to be faithful with what we already have. This is not about striving - it's about stewardship.

Stewardship shifts our focus from output to obedience. It reminds us that our lives are not platforms for performance, but offerings of worship. Jesus consistently affirmed faithfulness in small things and obedience that went unseen.

When we release the pressure to impress, we discover the joy of availability. We begin to ask, “How can I honor God with what is already in my hands?”

Resolution vs Reflection: In this season, what might it look like to choose faithfulness over visibility and obedience over applause?

As I step into this new year, I don’t want to offer Him parts of my life while keeping others guarded. I want Him to use all of me—my gifts, my limitations, my time, my voice.... I want to walk into this new season with a new level of surrender.

My prayer is not simply that God would bless what I do, but that He would be honored in how I live. In this process, I want others to be blessed—not so that I am seen, but so that they see the goodness of God. Passing these thoughts on, stewarding what He gives well, holding what He entrusts to me lightly, considering my sphere of influence.

You have a sphere of influence as well - and you have gifts entrusted to you. Make it your heart's desire: offer all you already are to the Lord -your gifts, your time, your voice, even your limitations.... Watch the Lord grow you, not because you earned it, but because the He is already pleased with you.

Resolution vs Reflection: As you enter this new year, what parts of your life might God be inviting you to surrender afresh?

The invitation of this season is not to become more impressive, but more surrendered. Reflection over resolution. Identity over performance. Faithfulness over striving. Allowing what is precious to the Lord to become precious to us: "the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 3:4).

When we stop trying to impress, we become free to live as who we were created to be. In the resolution vs reflection battle, let reflection win. You do not have to impress God - you are already His beloved, purchased with a high price. That's a treasure!

Let's continue this conversation on the podcast this week! Subscribe at https://www.youtube.com/@JenniferWSpivey so you don't miss anything. If you are considering growing into 2026, consider a Christian mentor! I would be honored to walk beside you - check out the resources and membership here on www.connectmentoringnetwork.org and let's grow together!