I’m not always a man of many words. Trying to come up with something to write in this space each month can be a challenge. As I think back over 2025, it’s hard to find the right words to enter 2026. To some degree, I’m still emotionally recovering from the events of 2025, and perhaps you are too. We lost some great friends this past year. Much change has happened at RCC this past year. I don’t know about you, but it makes me wonder what 2026 will bring. But through all that has happened and all that will happen, I know that our foundation needs to be God and His Word.
To this end, I was reminded of James’ words in James 4:13-17. He writes, “13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”
I’d love to be able to say what exactly will happen in 2026, but God has not gifted me with that ability, which is okay. But we have steadier ground to stand on. James tells us that in all things, we must first seek God’s will. That can be scary, because we don’t always know what could happen. God doesn't always work in the way we want.
James’ life is a great example of this. He was the half-brother of Jesus, and we’re told in John 7:5 that his brothers didn’t believe in him during Jesus’ ministry. After all, the big expectation of the Messiah was that He would kick Rome out and restore Israel to the glory days of David. But that’s not what Jesus was interested in doing. He came for a different purpose, to die for mankind and open the gates of heaven for all mankind. This wasn’t what James had in mind, but by the time of Acts, James was a believer. His letter is widely believed to be one of the earliest letters written that we have. And in this letter, he challenges us to live out our faith, and that means keeping God at the center of it.
Perhaps the scariest part of this, though, is in verse 14. We are like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. We don’t live forever. We are mortal, fragile beings. The average lifespan in this country is around 80 years old. It seems like a long time when we’re younger, and still somewhat new to this world. But as you get older, time seems to speed up, and you realize 80 really isn’t that long after all. It’s up to us to make the most of it. Moses, in Psalm 90, writes, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” It’s important to realize our fragility and the limited days of our life. Only then can we gain a heart of wisdom.
What is left to us, then, is how we choose to spend it. There are so many things in this world that can distract us from what really matters. Technology, social media, sports, etc. I struggle with this too. I need to number my days too, in order to live a life of Godliness. While hobbies are important, even good, they aren’t the main thing. I want to grow more like Jesus every day, so that people will see Him in me more and more clearly. That can only happen when I prioritize the right things.
So, as we move into 2026, what do you want your life to look like? What do you need to change to meet your goals? How will you live a life that truly matters? I’d like to point you to one last Bible verse, and it comes from the book written by a man going through an existential crisis. Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “Now all has been heard, here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” Solomon was the wisest man on the planet during his reign. He had sought after all things to satisfy him. Women, architecture, food, and anything else that money could buy. But none of it ended up doing much for him. It left him to go back to what he knew was important. Following God will never leave you empty. Putting His will above your own, even when it’s hard, will always pay off, because God loves you more than you could ever imagine. Let’s rest in that in 2026, and see where the Good Shepherd leads us.
11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice. -Ezekiel 34:11-16 (NIV)
