Here we are on the cusp of a brand new year, and I think, “How did we get here so fast?!” Isn’t all of life that way, though? It flies by until suddenly, everything is different. Someone once told me that when it comes to our children, the days are long, but the years are short, and I am not sure I have ever heard anything truer. Suddenly, I have a teenager, but it feels like I was just nursing her in the middle of the night!
There are seasons of life that feel like they will never end. We struggle and wrestle and cry and despair, until suddenly, it’s over. And all that was now seems like a distant memory. Sick loved ones, broken hearts, lonely nights, constant worry….or maybe sweeter things like family gatherings, the warmth of your spouse in bed next to you, the precious giggles of your little ones…suddenly, that has all changed in one way or another.
Life is bittersweet that way. The beauty of a new year is in the hope of a fresh start. We hope to wash all the pain of the previous year away and wake up to a fresh new beginning. We deeply want a new day without the old junk we’ve been lugging along. We look ahead thinking, “this year will be better.” But we know that we still live in a sinful, broken world with messy, imperfect people. We love, we celebrate, we experience new things and new places, but we will also cry, mourn, and hurt.
Perhaps the opposite has been true for you too. Maybe life was going your way, and suddenly the rug was pulled out from under your feet. Maybe you were blindsided by a tragedy that shattered your whole life on a random Tuesday. Maybe you thought the fight was done, the struggle was over, you were over the hill, but suddenly, the claws of addiction are dug just as deeply in as they ever were.
How can we ever feel hope and peace when life can change so suddenly?!
Well, because we are human, just flesh and bone, this isn’t always easy, but it is always true. God never changes, and He is never surprised. He created the entire universe, and He created you. He knows every hair on your head and every desire of your heart, because He planted them there. And He has woven every detail of your life together for your good and for His glory.
Life doesn’t always feel good or glorious, but I can promise you that there is a much bigger picture….Good is on the way!
Saul was on his way to Damascus to torture and persecute more Christians, when suddenly, God blinded him, changed his name, got his attention, and turned him into one of the greatest missionaries of all time. Paul, formerly Saul, suddenly had a change of heart.
When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples for the first time ever, they were gathered together, dare I say “cowering” behind locked doors after Jesus was crucified. We have the benefit of hindsight; they did not. They were terrified of facing the same fate for being this man’s friend, when suddenly, a mighty wind rushed through the room and the Holy Spirit filled all of them. It came out of nowhere but changed things forever!
The dirty, stinky shepherds, the outcasts of their society, were lounging in a field with their sheep on an average evening. Nothing new, nothing different, when suddenly, they were surrounded by angels announcing to them, the lowest of the low, that the long anticipated Savior was born. Go see Him!
Our God is bigger than our minds can imagine. We want to put Him into a time and place and way that we can understand. But He is so much bigger than we are even capable of comprehending! And what that means for us, as we face 2025, whether we are in a season of goodness that we are clinging to or a season of pain and struggle that we are ready to be over, He will change things suddenly and completely. Miracles are happening all around us. Look for Him! Go see Him! Every single thing in this life prepares us for the next, draws us closer to Him, until suddenly, we get to see Him face to face.
My prayer for all of us in 2025 is that we gain a more Heavenly perspective in this life, that we abide in His goodness and see the beauty of every day, even in the hard parts. I pray that soul satisfying peace, deep joy, gratitude, and humility are pervasive in our world, in our country, and in our day to day lives. And I pray that suddenly, we are so overcome by the grace and favor of a God that loves us so very much that we overflow with that same love into the hurting world around us, making it a better place, one sweet soul at a time.
May God bless you in 2025!
Jesus loves you, and so do I!
-Dr. Allison Key
