A Thrill of HopeSample

It’s the final day of 2025. You made it, congratulations! Maybe you are crawling towards today, or perhaps you are skipping into the new year. Regardless, we are finishing with a beautiful call and reminder of what our identity is as followers of Jesus.

The world pummels us with visions of who we are supposed to be as humans. Eat more protein, get more sleep, be more social, don’t be so social, get married, have kids, but don’t have kids too quickly. Strive, strive, strive. Achieve, achieve, achieve. Which means that sometimes, it can feel like we add on an extra layer of how we need to grow and change as Christians.

But I am here with good news as you finish the year and think about following Jesus to be more like Him in 2026.

You are not doing this alone. Yes, we are called to live a life that reflects Christ. But God in His infinite wisdom knew that if we were left alone to do it…we couldn’t. So He sent Jesus, His Son, so that we may see the call in Colossians 3 lived out. And then Jesus, who knew He was going to ascend to the Father said, “it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you..” (John 16:7, ESV) We are not doing this alone— the Holy Spirit is with us and is helping us. How good is that!

Today, ponder this: How can you make space for the Holy Spirit to work in your life? What could it look like to pursue deeper intimacy with the Holy Spirit for 2026?