Prayer Call: Finish Well

Good Morning, BFB!

As I was up this morning doing my devotion, I prayed and asked God: What is a word to give on this last Monday as we’ve reached the end of this year in December? We’re in that unique space—the last week of the year. A time of celebration for what’s to come, yet also a season of reflection on what's been.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been studying Isaiah, and God brought my attention back to a familiar passage of scripture that speaks to how to finish well and navigate this in-between season.

"'Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." - Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

Finishing Well. We're in that space where we're anticipating what's to come, yet still reflecting on what has been. Behind us is a year full of memories - 2025 brought joy: births, promotions, new opportunities, new relationships, new people coming to our church, and great things God has done for us.

But on the other hand, there were hard moments: losses, sickness, unanswered questions.

Ahead of us, if God delays His coming is 2026 - a new year full of possibilities, a new year we haven't lived yet. And with that - a new year filled with great opportunities. But right now, December 29th, we stand in the middle, in that in-between moment. And this is where God speaks through Isaiah telling us to, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past."

God isn't pressuring or judging us - He's giving a hopeful promise and showing us how to finish well. 

God is showing us that we cannot fully step into 2026 relying on what happened in 2025 or is still happening in 2025. For us to finish well, I think God is asking us to release what was so we can receive what is. Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past.

As I stated in yesterday's sermon, "Nothing that we've gone through shall be wasted." God is not telling us to forget our stories. But He is telling us to not get stuck in it. We all have two hands. In one hand we're holding on to past victories: how things used to be, how great things were. In the other hand, we're holding on to past wounds: challenges we faced, things that hurt, things that failed, and maybe some things that didn't happen. But here's the truth: If both hands are full, we can't receive what God is doing now.

With full hands, are we able to reach for those things that God wants us to have? To finish well, we have to let go of the things that no longer serves God's Purpose in our lives. Carry the lessons you've learned but don't get stuck in the circumstance of the lesson that was taught. As we close out this year, to finish well we have to ask God: Lord, help me let go of what I need to let go, so I can grasp what You have for me next.

2025 is almost done but our hope lies in the realization that God is already at work on what He has for us, not only today - but in the days to come. It's right there: "I'm doing a new thing. Now it springs up."

When studying we look to see what the text says but we also have to look to see what it does not say. When God says, "I am doing a new thing", He's not saying that He's doing something some day. He says, "I am doing something now." Even while we're waiting for a new year, while we're unsure, while we're tired - God is working.

The problem I see, is that new things never come loudly. Like growing a plant in the garden, growth starts quietly. Sometimes you don't see the healing. Sometimes you don't readily see the vision God has given. But that's why God asks the question, "Do you perceive it?"

Do you perceive that I am working even while you're waiting? I would garden with my grandfather and used to do acres of corn. We would plant rows and rows and rows of seeds. After planting, as a young child I would be getting off the school bus and I would look at the field, and nothing would be happening. It would look like we had just planted those seeds. 

But as I got older and I started hanging with my grandfather more, I started to realize that even though I didn't see it happening, beneath the surface that seed itself was starting to change. The seed was starting to sprout. It had taken what it needed from the ground and water, and soon something was going to spring up. There would soon be a field full of corn that was used to feed the community.

And that's what God is doing in our lives. As we end 2025 and go into 2026, God remembers that there are some answers we have not received. There are some things that we're still waiting for. But God wants to know, do we trust Him? Do we see that He's still working even though we can't see it yet? Will we still reach for Him, knowing He's already at work?

So as we end this in-between phase, we finish well by stepping forward with expectation.

Step forward into the coming new year with expectation and not fear. Step forward with faith that God is going to do just what He said. He's brought us this far and He'll take us the rest of the way.

I thank God for each and every one of you that's been on the prayer line this entire year. Those who jumped in halfway through the year. Trust that it one be just one prayer. It won't be just one devotion. But know that you can finish well as long as you have God.

As you finish well, know that He has something for you on the other side. Keep hoping. Keep believing. Keep trusting. We will finish well.

Amen and Amen.