You made it! Now what?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “You made it. Now what?”

Our Bible verse for today: “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “You made it!”

Congratulations! You made it to 2026. As I write this it is New Years Day 2026. 2025 is in the history books. Was it a good year for you? A tough year? A mixed bag? For most of us, it was probably a little bit of all of that. There were good times and bad, successes and failures, smiles and tears. But we made it! Here we are, it’s the first day of a New Year filled with possibility and promise. That’s something to celebrate. Being the optimist that I am, I choose to approach it with the expectation that 2026 is going to be even better than 2025. Last year was good. I believe this new year will be even better. I’m looking forward to it and I hope you are too.

Isaiah 46:4 is one of my personal life verses and it’s one that brings me great comfort. It speaks of how God guides us and carries us through the days of our lives, leading us to all the tomorrows He has for us. And when we get to tomorrow, He will already be there waiting for us, and He will guide, protect, and provide then just as He has in the past. I’ve rewritten that verse to make it more personal for me. In the Bible “according to Jim” that verse reads: “Even to your old age and gray hairs, Jim, I am He. I am He who will sustain you. I will sustain you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

There’s another verse I love which is also very appropriate as we approach the New Year, and it goes hand-in-hand with the truth expressed in Isaiah 46:4. It comes from the pen of the Apostle Paul and is found in Philippians 3:13-14, “… one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.”

The reason we can leave the past in the past and stride forward into the future with confidence and boldness (as Philippians 3:13-14 describes), is precisely because Isaiah 46:4 is true. God watches over us, He cares for us, He protects us, and He provides for us. That has been true in the past and it will continue to be true in the future.

2025 is over and you made it! I encourage you to celebrate that fact and then get ready for a great 2026! To help with that, in the days to come I will offer you some thoughts about how you can do your part to help make 2026 a great year for you.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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