Trust & Obey

Reflecting on the year that’s now behind us is crucial, even if you’re a bit late to the party like me. Observing what we did well and what we can improve upon for the year ahead is what allows us to continue blooming into the people we will become. So, with that in mind, what I noticed for my 2025 was a year focused on learning about God. I have spent most of my teen years and early twenties trying to figure out myself, but I found myself this year more curious about who God is, and if my picture of Him is correct. Update: it was most certainly askew (and definitely still is in other areas). However, we can’t begin to learn anything if we are not willing to evaluate our beliefs and be okay with temporary disorder. Learning is a messy business; you will always have new ideas floating around and old ones potentially being thrown out.

If you would have asked me in 2025 if I thought God cares about the small stuff, I probably would have said “Yes,” but it would have been a conditional yes. It depends on the kind of small things or if they are actually small. I have come to discover, it does not matter. I asked God for a lot of silly things in 2025. In my prayer journal, I would tell Him about my wedding hopes and dreams, and the things I was concerned about and they would seemingly come together! I wanted a beautiful going away dress, but there was hardly any money in the budget for it. No worries! There’s a fun black and pink dress at Macy’s for $19.99. I think a coffee bar would be iconic! Sounds good, here’s some old family friends who would be happy to do it for next to no money. We got an apartment, but we have no furniture and I don’t know where we will get any for the price we need! Already thought of it. I have everything you need at an estate sale on the day you move in. Easy breezy! It happened to me so many times this year, and yet I was stunned every single time. I saw that God sees me and cares about me in a tangible way. God’s too personal to just dump unexplainable wealth on us. He wants to care for every single need, one step at a time. He wants to hear our prayers and answer them, maybe in a way very different from ours, but so much better than we could’ve imagined.

God is focused on a relationship with us, not on how often we screw up. I have screwed up a lot this year. I have cursed, lied, gossiped, and got more angry than I would like to admit. I feel terrible about it, and yet it’s like I can’t stop. It’s like an auto pilot response. Dane Ortlund talks about in his book, Gentle and Lowly, that we are provoked to love like God is provoked to anger. It has to hit such a level that it is the final resort. We get angry on a dime. We stub our toes and are livid! God, on the other hand, loves on a dime. Ortlund explains, “His highest priority and deepest delight and first reaction-his heart-is merciful and gracious” (148). God’s final resort is anger. When loving has not worked, when mercy has been futile, does God finally feel anger. So, when I have gossiped with a co-worker, instead of hiding it, I need to run to God for forgiveness. Because, nothing melts His heart like a contrite person.

The last thing I have learned in 2025 is that I need to lock in as a Christian. The Cost of Discipleship was huge in showing me that I cannot be a slacker and call myself a follower of Christ. We need to obey when we are asked to obey and follow without question. We are not our own master fifty percent of the time, and God our master the other fifty. He writes that “The call to follow implies that there is only one way of believing on Jesus Christ, and that is by leaving all and going with the incarnate Son of God” (19). We are giving our autonomy over to the One who will make far better use of our lives than we ever could. If we don’t believe that is true, then we will spend our whole lives fighting with God over dominance in our lives and, at that point, are we doing anything constructive?

God has revealed so much to me and has made me a more loving and considerate person over 2025. I am far from perfect, but this is the sanctification process. I don’t expect to be perfect 30 years from now, but if I can continue to get one step closer to Christ every day, I believe God will sort out the rest. So what about you? How has God showed up in your life in 2025? Write it down and share it with those around you! When we share our testimonies of God’s goodness, it propels others toward Him.