00:00Hey friends, Happy New Year.
00:04Here is why Jesus would tell you this is going to be your best year yet.
00:10Before anything else.
00:13Before plans, goals, resolutions, or expectations.
00:18Before the pressure to make this year different sets in.
00:24You see, if your habits stayed the same this year as they were last year,
00:28you're just going to live the same year.
00:32So you're going to have to make some changes.
00:35So take a breath.
00:37Because if Jesus were standing in front of you right now,
00:42not as an idea, not as a symbol,
00:45not as a distant figure from history,
00:49but present, personal, and close.
00:54I don't believe he would rush you forward.
00:56He wouldn't start by asking you what you're trying to accomplish this year.
01:03He wouldn't ask you what you failed at last year.
01:07He would not ask you if you're afraid,
01:11or what you're afraid of, repeating.
01:15He would see you first.
01:19He would see the fatigue some of you are carrying into this year.
01:23The quiet hope mixed with hesitation.
01:26The optimism that feels cautious because you've been disappointed before.
01:34And before saying anything else,
01:37he would steady you.
01:39Then, he would say something that might surprise you.
01:43This is going to be your best year yet.
01:49Not because everything will go right.
01:52Not because life will suddenly become easy.
01:56But because you are finally ready for the kind of growth that lasts.
02:03Ready, not because you have all the answers.
02:08But because you've learned how to keep walking without them.
02:12And Jesus defines best differently than we do.
02:18We tend to define the best year as the smoothest one.
02:23Less stress.
02:24Clear direction.
02:26Quick answers.
02:28Visible success.
02:30But Jesus has never measured life by comfort.
02:35He spoke openly about hardship.
02:39About waiting.
02:40About loss.
02:42And about storms.
02:45And yet, he also said,
02:48I have come that they may have life,
02:52and have it abundantly.
02:55You see, abundant life doesn't mean shallow happiness.
02:59It means depth.
03:02It means peace that holds when circumstances don't.
03:07That's why this can be your best year yet.
03:12Not because storms won't come.
03:15But because they won't define you the way they once did.
03:21You've been shaped.
03:22And Jesus sees what you've been carrying.
03:27You see, Jesus wouldn't acknowledge something many people overlook.
03:33He would see what you've been carrying.
03:36Quietly.
03:37The prayers that felt unanswered.
03:41The strength it took just to show up.
03:45The faith that wasn't loud, but stubborn.
03:50Scripture says,
03:52A bruised reed will not break.
03:55And a smoldering wick, he will not snuff out.
04:00That means Jesus honors faith that survives.
04:05If last year drained you, it did for many of us.
04:10It wasn't because you were weak.
04:14It was because you were enduring.
04:18And endurance, well, endurance changes people.
04:24And growth comes before breakthrough.
04:26You see, Jesus understood seasons.
04:31Before resurrection, there was a cross.
04:35Before authority, there was obedience.
04:39Before fruit, there was burial.
04:43And he said,
04:45Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,
04:49it remains alone.
04:52Now, some of you felt buried last year.
04:55I know at times I did too.
04:59But buried doesn't mean forgotten.
05:01We need to remember that.
05:03You know, roots grow in darkness.
05:06Strength?
05:07Well, strength grows under pressure.
05:11And this year may not remove resistance.
05:15But it may finally reveal
05:18what the resistance was producing.
05:21And Jesus would tell you
05:24to stop living in an old chapter.
05:27You see, Jesus never defined people
05:30by their worst moment.
05:32He restored failures.
05:34He redeemed the ashamed.
05:37He rewrote stories
05:38everyone else had given up on.
05:42And scripture says,
05:44If anyone is in Christ,
05:48they are a new creation.
05:51Yet, many of us are still living mentally
05:54in old chapters.
05:56We bring old guilt,
05:58old labels,
06:00and feel old regrets.
06:02But Jesus would gently say,
06:06You don't live there anymore.
06:09And this year can be your best year
06:11because you are learning to release
06:14what God already forgave.
06:17And forgiveness,
06:19well,
06:20that changes how you breathe.
06:23And the best years
06:25often begin with surrender.
06:28Jesus would remind you
06:29that peace doesn't come from control.
06:32It comes from trust.
06:36He said,
06:37Come to me,
06:38all who are weary and burdened,
06:41and I will give you rest.
06:45Now, some years are about building,
06:48and some have been about healing.
06:51And healing years
06:52don't look impressive,
06:55but I assure you,
06:57they are holy.
06:58And this could be the year
07:00you stop striving.
07:02The year you stop proving.
07:05The year you finally rest
07:08without guilt.
07:11Now,
07:12you are not walking
07:14into this year alone.
07:16Jesus promised,
07:19I am with you always.
07:21Not when life is easy,
07:23and not when faith feels strong.
07:26Always.
07:29You are not stepping into this year unsupported.
07:33Even slow days matter.
07:36Especially slow days.
07:39Because your best year may change you
07:42before it changes anything else.
07:46And Jesus might say,
07:48Stop comparing your journey
07:50to someone else's outcome.
07:52Your best year may not be loud,
07:55but it may be deep.
07:58It may be the year your faith matures.
08:03Your heart softens,
08:05and your priorities realign.
08:09Stillness is not wasting time.
08:12It's where clarity grows.
08:14It's where clarity grows.
08:16And,
08:17if Jesus were to leave you
08:20with one final word
08:21as you step into this year,
08:24I believe it would be this.
08:27The best year of your life
08:30doesn't begin
08:32when everything changes.
08:34It begins
08:36when you trust me
08:38with whatever comes.
08:42Not when fear disappears.
08:45Not when answers arrive.
08:47But when you walk forward
08:49anyway.
08:51This year,
08:52it doesn't need to be perfect
08:54to be powerful.
08:56It doesn't need to be easy
08:58to be meaningful.
08:59It only needs
09:01to be faithful.
09:04So,
09:05my beautiful friends,
09:07walk gently into it.
09:09Walk honestly
09:10into it.
09:13Walk with hope.
09:14Not because you know
09:16what's coming,
09:17but because
09:18you know
09:19who walks with you.
09:23Let us pray.
09:25Jesus,
09:26you see every heart
09:29listening right now.
09:31You know
09:32what they've survived.
09:34You know
09:35what they're still holding.
09:37We place this year
09:39into your hands.
09:42Not with demands,
09:44but with trust.
09:46Heal what's heavy.
09:48Strengthen
09:49what's weary.
09:52Guide what feels
09:53uncertain.
09:54Teach us
09:56to walk
09:57this year.
09:58Not rush.
10:00To trust.
10:02Not fear.
10:04To rest.
10:06Not strive.
10:09And
10:10may this
10:10truly be
10:11our best year.
10:13Not because
10:14life is easy,
10:16but because
10:17you
10:17are with us.
10:20In
10:21Jesus'
10:21name.
10:23Amen.
10:24God bless you
10:26all,
10:26my friends,
10:27and may this
10:28be your
10:29best year.
10:32Bye-bye.
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