We are a few weeks into the year and many of us are already well settled into the year. We have fully leaned into 2026. Some of us are still caught up in the newness of the year. We are still using our 2025 diaries that we didn’t fill up. We are still confusing the date and writing down 2025 as the year. Even worse, some of us still have our Christmas trees up (I’m not judging)

New beginnings can be exciting. The idea of starting afresh is one that many people cherish. The opportunity to leave behind the old and embrace new possibilities, new adventures and even new challenges. Maybe 2026 is the year you intend to graduate from university, maybe it’s the year you are going to finally take that trip you have been saving for, maybe it’s the year you are getting married. Our vision boards are written, our resolution lists are full – Bring on 2026!!

However, it is not lost on me that the new year can also bring along painful emotions. Maybe for you the start of the year marks the 10th year anniversary of when you lost your loved one, or another year where you are still writing down that dream because God hasn’t fulfilled His promise to you yet. Maybe 2026 is the year you start a new job, new business, a new health and fitness journey and as much as these things are exciting, there is a part of you that feels anxious about stepping into new territories.  

I want to offer an encouragement to anyone who is finding it hard to embrace this new year. To anyone who is anxious about what this new year will bring. In Judges 6, we meet Gideon, a guy who is about to become a judge in Israel. However, he really doesn’t view himself as one that God can even use. The angel of the Lord encounters Gideon as he is threshing wheat in a winepress. Wait? Make it make sense. Wheat should not be threshed in a winepress. Wine presses are for preparing wine. But because of the terror of their enemies, their Midianites, Gideon was threshing the wheat in a wine press (in hiding) to stay away from the Israelites’ enemies.

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

Judges 6:12 NIV

Gideon certainly doesn’t feel like this title suits him because this was his response to the angel:

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

Judges 6:15 NIV

However, the angel assured him that he was the one chosen to deliver his people from their enemies, and that the Lord would be with him. If you continue reading Gideon’s story in Judges chapters 6 to 8, you will realise that Gideon asks for several signs from God to confirm that he was really the one chosen to embark on this new adventure. To me, it seems like Gideon was really anxious about this new journey God was calling him to. God was gracious and showed Gideon the signs He asked and later on granted him victory over the Midianites with just 300 men.

Like many of us, Gideon questioned his ability to jump into a new chapter of his life. A chapter that would allow Him to partner with God but also invite opposition from his own people. God doesn’t just throw us into new seasons and then desert us. He promises not to leave us as we navigate them. Even when we feel inadequate and unqualified, God provides His assurance that we are the right people for the task He has called us to and He will go to great lengths to make sure we see ourselves how He sees us.

I don’t know what difficult emotions this new year may have brought to you but I pray that you can bring these emotions to God – as raw and honest as you can. Ask Him for signs that this is what He has called you to and for assurance that He will be with you. Ask for the things you need to step into this new year – peace, resources, strategy, wisdom, connections, you name it. And when God responds, go with confidence into every day of this year, knowing that God is backing you up. 

The God who has brought you and I into 2026 is the same God who is available and ready to guide us through it. Not that there won’t be challenges this year but we have the confidence that God will see us through them. 

Prayer.

Lord, I admit that this new year has brought mixed emotions. I am embracing the excitement of seeing a new year while also struggling with the new things that this year brings. I pray that you guide me and help me to walk with you step by step as I navigate the year ahead. Lord show me anything that I need to let go and leave in the past and allow me to look forward with hope and joy towards your plans and your purposes for me in 2026. In Jesus Name, Amen.