Every January, we rush toward resolutions that promise quick transformation.
Pray more.
Work out more.
Lose weight.
Fix the parts of ourselves that feel unfinished.
But what if the most important spiritual and psychological resolution you could make this year is one you’ve never considered?
Learning to peacefully let time pass.
It sounds too simple — almost passive — especially in a culture that idolizes urgency, instant improvement, and immediate clarity. But in the deepest moments of the spiritual life, and in the most tender moments of psychological healing, this gentle discipline is often the missing piece.
We don’t talk about it because it doesn’t feel productive. It doesn’t generate dramatic stories. It doesn’t look impressive on paper. But it’s one of the most powerful graces a person can cultivate.
Why “Letting Time Pass” Matters More Than Ever
When something painful rises within us — anxiety, conflict, uncertainty, confusion — our instinct is to act. To solve it. To escape it. To make a decision that gives us a sense of control.
But many of the worst decisions are made in moments of spiritual desolation or emotional overwhelm. Not because we’re weak, but because pain always tempts us toward unnecessary haste.
God often moves slowly. Patiently. Deliberately. Tenderly.
Grace unfolds. Clarity emerges layer by layer. And He heals in a rhythm that honors our humanity instead of bypassing it.
Letting time pass is not procrastination. It’s participation in how God works.
The Psychology Behind This Spiritual Resolution
Anyone who’s walked through fear, panic, or emotional turbulence knows how instinctive it is to fight the feeling. But resistance tends to make suffering worse. Fighting sensations keeps us locked inside them.
Allowing time to pass does something extraordinary: It gives your nervous system a chance to settle and grace a chance to operate.
This simple posture:
- loosens the grip of fear,
- softens emotional reactivity,
- lowers the stakes of the moment,
- and opens the interior space where God can actually reach you.
We often think we need insight first, peace first, or a spiritual answer first. But sometimes all we need is time. Just enough time for the storm inside to break, shift, and move on. Just enough time for our hearts to catch up with what God is doing.
Why the Enemy Fears This Virtue
There’s an old insight worth remembering: Demons don’t have time.
They exist in a constant state of agitation, urgency, and pressure. They push. They rush. They shove us toward decisions that feel necessary right now.
Letting time pass disrupts their entire strategy.
The moment you refuse urgency, you reclaim your freedom. The moment you breathe and wait, you step into God’s pace, not your fear’s pace. And the moment you choose patience, you declare with your actions: I trust that God is already at work, even before I can see it.
That kind of trust is lethal to the enemy’s plans.
The New Year’s Resolution That Actually Changes You
This year, make space for the kind of transformation that doesn’t happen overnight.
When you feel overwhelmed: Let time pass.
When you’re stuck in an old pattern: Let time pass.
When prayer feels empty: Let time pass.
When desolation whispers that nothing will ever change: Let time pass.
This simple resolution has the power to:
- protect you from impulsive decisions,
- deepen your spiritual maturity,
- increase your psychological resilience,
- and free you from the tyranny of urgency.
Not because nothing is happening, but because something sacred is at work.
Why not let this be the year you honor God’s pace instead of forcing your own?
Not the year of rushing. Not the year of spiritual perfectionism. Not the year of quick fixes.The year of slow miracles.
The year of patient trust. The year of becoming unhurried inside your own soul. The year you stop trying to control every thread and finally allow the needlepoint of your life to be turned over — revealing the order beneath the chaos.
Because grace is already on its way. All you have to do is let time pass.