Looking Back, Leaning Forward

This week we stand at the crossroads of the old year and the new. We look back at what is behind and wonder what lies ahead. Are you excited or fearful? Do you wish time would pause, or are you ready to rush forward into 2026?

If I’m honest, my answer is “yes” to all of it at different moments. We live looking back at the first advent of Jesus while waiting for His second coming. Israel waited through 400 years of silence, wondering when the promised Messiah would come. Now we wait—without knowing when—for Jesus to return and usher in a new heaven and a new earth.

My emotions about His return are sometimes all over the place. Part of me says, “Lord, come quickly and make all things new!” Yet another part pleads, “Wait—there are still people I care about who don’t know You yet.” I long to leave the confusion of this world, yet I also don’t want to step away from the privilege of serving Jesus and “fishing for men.”

Mary waited for the Messiah along with all of Israel, and then she anticipated throughout her pregnancy all that Jesus would do as sovereign Lord. Now we wait for His return. Though we don’t know when it will be, Revelation assures us that Jesus will come again!

In the meantime, our desire should be to grow in intimacy with Jesus and live more like Him as we shine His light so He is known and treasured as Savior. That journey may look like one step forward and two steps back at times. We won’t do this perfectly, but as we study Scripture and seek to know Him more, He will use us to draw others to Himself.

You will keep the mind that is
dependent on you in perfect peace,
for it is trusting in you.
Trust in the LORD forever,
because in the LORD, the LORD himself, is an everlasting rock! Isaiah 26:3

So, as I look toward 2026—both excited and a little fearful—I rest in knowing that whatever the Lord allows will be for His glory and my sanctification. He will walk every step with me. That is the assurance we can carry into every day of the coming year. Without Him, it would be impossible.

May each day reveal more of Jesus to us, so we can reveal more of Jesus to the world.

Banner photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash