Jimmy was a Sunday School leader, but he never wanted to be a leader. One day, the church pastor asked him to give a short speech in church. Jimmy became nervous and scared. He said, “No, I can’t do that.” But the pastor and church leaders insisted, so Jimmy finally went up and stood before the congregation. He asked them, “Do you know what I’m going to say?” They said no. Jimmy replied, “I don’t know either,” and he walked away.
The next Sunday came, and they did not want to give up. They forced him again to come forward. Jimmy stood up nervously and asked once more, “Do you know what I’m going to say?” Remembering last time, they decided to say yes. So everyone said yes. Jimmy responded, “If you already know, then I don’t have to preach,” and he left again.
By the third Sunday, they decided to figure out a strategy. When Jimmy came up and asked the same question, half the congregation said yes and the other half said no. Jimmy replied, “Well, the ones who know can tell the ones who don’t,” and he walked away again.
That is exactly how I feel today. Around 5:30 this morning, Pastor Tim, who was supposed to preach today, called me about his situation and asked me to preach. I woke up suddenly and didn’t know where I was for about ten minutes. Then I prayed and decided to preach here today. So please pray for me. God is good in this new year, and please pray for Tim and his wife, Jenny, as well.
January is a very interesting month. After the holidays, we are all tired. We are supposed to be rested after the holidays, but that’s not how it works. It takes about a month to put everything up, and then you have only one week to take it all down. That alone is exhausting. And then the bills start coming in—credit card bills from all the “great gifts” we bought. You don’t even want to go to the mailbox anymore, if people even use mailboxes now.
I visited one of my old friends last year, and she said, “I don’t go to the mailbox anymore.” I asked why, and she said, “They’re all bills. They’re not for me.” That’s how it sometimes feels.
It is a known fact that the second week of January is the most stressful week in America, and this stress is spreading to other parts of the world as well. Surprisingly, January 6—the day of Epiphany, when we celebrate the visit of the Magi—is considered the most stressful day of the year, according to studies.
So here we are in this tired month of January, looking at the new year with expectations and hope.
The word January comes from the Roman god of beginnings, Janus. Janus is depicted with two faces—one looking forward and one looking backward. That image symbolizes what January does for us. It is a month of looking back and looking forward at the same time.
Someone posted in one of the groups this past week, “Goodbye 2025. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” At first, I didn’t think much of it. But later I realized how meaningful that statement was. Sometimes when we leave a year behind, it can still hit us from behind.
The passage we read today from the prophet Isaiah addresses a similar situation. God’s people were in bondage, and God wanted to encourage them with His plans for their future and strengthen their hope.
When we started 2025, do you remember what happened on January 1 in New Orleans? Someone drove a truck into a crowd. That memory came back to me when I read, “Don’t let the door hit you.” It was a terrible start to the year, and many of us wondered how the year would turn out. But we healed, recovered, and moved forward.
That same month, wildfires broke out in California. Thousands of homes were destroyed, and many people lost their lives. It was another shocking reminder of how fragile life can be. The year did not begin well, but as time went on, we moved forward despite wars, political changes, and global uncertainty.
Each year begins this way—shaken, uncertain, and filled with unknowns. But like January itself, we look back and remember that God has led us through every season of our lives. These events shaped us into who we are today.
Think about life before 9/11. We used to walk our loved ones all the way to the airplane, seat them, fasten their seatbelts, hug them, and then leave. Today, we cannot even go near the gate without a ticket. Life changed.
Then COVID came, and everything changed again. Children born during and after COVID are shaped by that experience. Our grandson cannot go anywhere without sanitizer. He expects it everywhere because that’s how he was raised. These events shaped us.
While these experiences have shaken our world and created uncertainty, they have also brought us to this moment. Paul says in Philippians that he has not yet attained everything, but one thing he does: forgetting what is behind and pressing toward what is ahead. Isaiah echoes the same message: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. I am doing a new thing.”
God makes a way in the wilderness. God brings streams into the desert. When we feel lost, God opens a path. When we feel dry and empty, God provides refreshment.
Last week, we spoke about Ebenezer—“Thus far the Lord has helped us.” That phrase does not mean the journey is finished. It means God has been faithful so far, and He will continue to be faithful.
We all like to plan. We prefer order and certainty. But many of the most important things in life are unpredictable—how long we live, when illness comes, or how life will change. God reminds us through Isaiah that He provides even in impossible places.
Psalm 23 tells us that God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. David wrote this while surrounded by danger. God provides nourishment, peace, and strength even in the middle of hardship.
Our enemies may not be people—they may be sickness, grief, broken relationships, or fear. Yet God can still prepare a table for us. God is like a master chef who feeds us even when we are overwhelmed.
The prophet says, “Forget the former things.” We cannot change the past, but we can ruin the present by dwelling on it. Learn from the past, release it, and move forward into what God has prepared.
Paul reminds us in Philippians 4 not to worry, because God supplies all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.
God does not call the prepared; He prepares the called. Moses was a shepherd and struggled to speak. David was a shepherd boy, not a warrior. God prepares those He calls.
As we step into 2026, we do so not because we are fully prepared, but because God is faithful to prepare us.
Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God knows the plans He has for us—plans to prosper us, not to harm us, plans for hope and a future. God knows the future, the past, and walks with us in the present.
Faith is not a shield that keeps storms away; it is an anchor that holds us steady during the storm.
Let me close with a story. In Swans Quarter, North Carolina, a small Methodist congregation near the beach worshiped in a trailer while searching for land. One landowner refused to sell. Then a massive flood came. The church trailer floated down the street and landed—of all places—on that man’s property. The church still stands there today, called Providence Methodist Church. Their sign reads: Moved by the Hand of God.
God can move churches. God can move circumstances. God can move hearts.
So let us look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. In the midst of uncertainty, God’s promises remain firm. He invites us to trust Him with the future.
May the good Lord bless us with these words, and may you have a blessed and happy New Year. Amen.
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