Looking Back, Looking Forward '26

I hope that you and the people you love are having a wonderful Christmastime!  In the church calendar, the season lasts until the last moment of January 5, so keep the celebration going. Of course, within that time frame comes the beginning of a brand new calendar year, sweetening the season even more. I don't know about you, but one of my favorite things to do during this season is to look back at old pictures of Christmas celebrations and enjoy the memories they contain. It is so much fun to see how all of the children and grandchildren have grown and changed over the years, and to reflect on the different eras of life each photo represents. It is so good to remember.

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day to begin a fresh, new year. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and there is such a crisp feel to the air. But as tempting as it is to start marching ahead into the newness of a new year, what an opportunity the slower holiday season affords to spend at least just a few minutes looking back.

Somehow, so many of us are wired to look back and focus primarily, and much too deeply, on the things that we regret, or that disappointed us, or that we got wrong. When we turn and look back, we too often see the negative or the not-enough, and concentrate on our own failings. Sadly, we neglect to see the many ways God met us in so many situations.

So today, many of us might be relieved to start again with a new year, really ready to leave 2025 in the dust. We might look backwards and see frustrating relationships, or unmet expectations, or unresolved conflict. Frankly, there is always plenty of that no matter what the calendar year is.  Of course, at least part of the problem is with who we put at the center of our lives—ourselves, or God?—and how we look back is quite telling. When we can only see the negative, it is a sure sign that we're putting too much emphasis on ourselves and our own abilities or lack thereof. If we think the entire burden of life rests on our own shoulders, we are sure to be disappointed, year after year. But if we put God at the center, and train our eyes to see that, it can absolutely revolutionize our faith moving forward.

Focusing on only the negative in life would be like keeping a photo album of the worst days of your life, or constructing a shrine to purposely remind yourself of something awful. Strangely, there actually seem to be people out there who do this very thing, and then wonder why they are always miserable and bitter. But in His wisdom, God asks us to remember the beautiful, joyful, victorious things—and there are so many wonderful things that God in his faithfulness does for us, all the time!

And this is where I will round out my musical theme of this year with one more song that has been a heart song of mine, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" . The verse that I am particularly thinking about right now goes like this:

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by Thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
interposed His precious blood.

The word Ebeneezer refers to a remembrance stone, and this idea is found throughout the Old Testament, most specifically in 1 Samuel chapter 7. The Lord loves for us to purposefully remember! I hope that there is some sort of enormous photo album room to go through with Him someday, when heaven comes down. So often in the scriptures He encourages, even commands, His people to build something or to make something so that every time they pass there again, they will remember His great faithfulness.

So what better day is there to take a look back at the recently departed year than today? Eli and I have allotted ourselves sometime in the afternoon of January 1 to spend some time together reflecting on the highlight reel of this past year. Together, we hope to compile quite a list of the many beautiful things that God did for us,  showed us, or spoke to us in 2025.

You might not have time today, but I encourage you to let this thought lodge in your mind, and sometime this week take at least a bit of time to compile your own list. We know in our hearts and would even tell others that God is always there, that He really never leaves us or forsakes us. But too often we neglect to actually believe this. Our thoughts are too crowded by the many disappointments life brings. And those heartbreaks are what comes to the forefront, even when we’re looking forward to a new year. We’re left sort of bracing ourselves for what awful things might happen this next year. 

But instead of beginning this year with that outlook, taking a backward glance specifically to focus on the faithfulness of God can give us such a different vantage point as we march into the new year. Take the time to at least think of them, better yet write them down. What wonderful things happened in your life last year? Think of the...

-Relationships that were mended

-Miracles of provision

-Healing in your own body

-New experiences, new friends, and all of the new things God led you into

-Moments of peace and contentment

-Any of these things in the lives of people you love

-Or fill in the blank!

The point is just to look back and look for the wonderful things, which are surely manifold. The enemy wants you to focus on the negative, on the lack, on the frustration, and to fool you into thinking that you ought to really live in despair and hopelessness because so many things go wrong, surely God can’t be as good as He says He is…  

But God IS as good as He says He is, and you can trust Him!  All of those frustrating things are just part of wading through this broken world. And, guess what—God uses and redeems those frustrating experiences to make us stronger and more full of faith.

The wonderful news is the fact that Jesus is making everything new, and those encouraging points in life where we see that in such a real and powerful way can propel us and sustain us and encourage us through the dark bits. Don’t let the negative things of the past be your point of reference. Instead, let God and His faithfulness be your north star as you walk into 2026.

A few posts ago, I mentioned how in our church gathering we’ve been learning that faith is looking backward at how good God has been in the past, love is realizing all of the amazing things He is doing right here and right now, and hope is resting on both of those things as we look forward. We can be sure that He is going to be just as good as always as we move into the new year. 

So sometime this week, I encourage you to take time to remember His faithfulness. Build your own mental photo album or memorial with God and share some great memories together. Let Him build your faith, let Him fill you with his love, and may you be absolutely full of hope throughout the new year!
​