Maybe you’re wondering why I’m sharing a post about the new year since I just published one about it last week. Well, I’ve been feeling a little discouraged about 2026—mainly because 2025 did not turn out the way I planned. And if you, like me, have been needing hope for the new year, I want you to keep reading. I wrote this post for both of us.
Please Not Again
At this time of year, people often say things like, “Wow, last year flew. I can’t believe it’s a new year already!” While I understand the sentiment, I can’t relate to it this year. For me, 2025 crawled, and I definitely can believe it’s a new year.
I really don’t want to sound whiney or melodramatic. Last year, God blessed me in so many ways I didn’t deserve. He was good and kind and merciful, as He always is.
But frankly, I don’t know if I can go through another year like 2025. It was so devastating to start a relationship with someone who wasn’t ready (in many, many ways) to see it through. It was so disappointing to slave over my second book—plus countless query letters and book proposals—and not hear a single publisher or literary agent express interest in publishing it. Friends came in and out of my life. Promotional doors opened but then slammed shut (or never even opened to begin with). Baby showers filled my calendar, reminding me that I’m “behind” not only in regard to getting married but also in regard to having children.
Sometimes all I could think was this: God, why are You doing this to me?
Willing to Hope
I don’t want to be bitter. I don’t to be like Naomi, who—after her husband and sons died—said, “‘Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me’” (Ruth 1:20 ESV). I want to be like her daughter-in-law Ruth, who—even in her grief—chose to follow God in faith. I’m still figuring out how to choose Ruth’s attitude over Naomi’s attitude. Maybe you are too.
I realize you might already be familiar with the story of Ruth. Perhaps you’ve done a Bible study about it, heard a sermon series on it, or even read it for yourself. There are several lessons we can learn from it, but I simply want to focus on this one: Ruth didn’t despair.
Unlike Naomi—who asked for a name change, believing God had turned His back on her—Ruth held on to hope. When Ruth committed to following Naomi and her God (Ruth 1:16-17), neither Ruth nor Naomi knew what the end of the story would be. They didn’t know God would lead a righteous man named Boaz into their lives to care for them. They didn’t know Boaz and Ruth would get married and have a son—Obed—whom Naomi would get to nurture. They didn’t know Obed would be an ancestor of Jesus.
All Naomi and Ruth could see was their sorrow and pain, yet Ruth chose to have hope. Perhaps deep down, she believed the story wasn’t over yet. And she was right.
Not Over Yet
But Boaz answered her [Ruth], “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” (Ruth 2:11-12 ESV)
These words are from the first conversation Boaz had with Ruth, but many more conversations would follow. He praised the sacrifice Ruth had made for Naomi and promised God would reward her for it. (He did!) Tragedy was the beginning, not the end, of the story.
Friends, 2025 isn’t the end of the story God wrote for you. Yes, the hard things you experienced last year are part of the story, but anything can happen this year. I promise He has good things in store. If you’re willing to look beyond your current circumstances, you’ll see a God who desires and rewards the faithful obedience of His people. Let that truth give you hope in 2026.
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