2026

A new year.

A new beginning.

A blank page on which God will continue to write his story.

Yet, truth be told, don’t we all long for that crystal ball so that we can know for certain what this year holds. The adventures, the heartaches, the challenges, but then I smile because I know that we don’t need a crystal ball. No, we don’t need to know the future because we know the One who does. Our omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God, and he alone is in control:

“I am the Lord; there is no other God…. I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the LORD, am the one who does these things.” (Isaiah 45:5,7)

There is no other God, and he is ruler over light and darkness. He controls our prosperity, as well as our disasters, and while we pray and pray for only good times, in the back of our mind, we know there will be bad. There is no escaping it in this world, yet we still question why. Why do we have to suffer? Why can’t 2026 be a year with no problems!

Ageless questions that have caused many a weary saint to stumble, and before we too make the same mistake of questioning the goodness of our God, we need to remember that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Yes, the God who created all things is also able to redeem and restore when the world says it’s only hopeless, and so as I flip open my new calendar, I wonder what God wants me to learn in 2026. How can I go deeper with him? How can I keep running my race despite the ups and downs this year will bring?

A word forms on my tongue. To be honest, a word that I struggle with, which is probably why the Holy Spirit planted it in my mind.

What is the word you ask?

Contentment.

This thought started with the Lord’s Prayer. I’ve recently made it a part of my morning prayers, and as I have repeated the words, “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11), I feel God asking me, “Are you content with what I give you daily, or do you think you need more to be happy?”

Once again, I find myself in the proverbial hot seat. Am I like Luke Skywalker always looking to the future, with my mind never on where I am?

Yes, I am that big of Star Wars geek, but it perfectly sums up my current state of mind. You know that I want to be retired, but instead of being content with God’s answer of “Not yet,” I’ve whined and complained. I spend my time counting the days until I can retire instead of counting my blessings in the here and now.

I am literally wishing my life away, and it’s stopping now! I want to learn to be content, and while I have no idea what God has up his sleeve to teach me this lesson, I plan on spending 2026 at the feet of my Savior as I ask him to show me how to do this well.

A new year with new possibilities; I can’t wait to get started!

Happy New Years!  Lisa