Moving Forward

Moving Forward: Celebrating God's Faithfulness
As we stand at the threshold of a new year, there's a natural tendency to look back at what we've endured. We rehearse the struggles, count the losses, and catalog the disappointments. But what if this year, we chose a different narrative? What if instead of dwelling on the wounds, we celebrated the victories?

The Power of Remembering Right
In 1 Samuel 7, we find a powerful story about the Israelites who had been separated from God's presence for twenty long years. The Ark of the Covenant had returned to them, but nothing changed. They remained dry, struggling, wondering why the blessings weren't flowing. The problem wasn't God's absence—it was theirs.

Samuel posed a critical consideration to the people: "If you're serious about returning to God, put away your idols."

This is where many of us get stuck. We want God's blessings while holding onto the very things that keep us from Him. We check the boxes—go to church, read our Bibles—but in the midnight hour, we're not calling on Jesus. We're entertaining the same distractions, the same toxic relationships, the same habits that drain our spiritual vitality.

The truth is uncomfortable but liberating: if you don't do something to stop, you will never stop.

The Cost of Comfort
Sometimes we avoid serious prayer because we don't really want to hear what God has to say. We pray for situations to go our way, for stuff to come to us, but we don't pray for transformation. We don't want God to tell us to stop doing what we're doing because, honestly, we like doing it.

It's like children who go into slow motion when they're called because they know they did something wrong. We do the same with God—moving slowly toward Him because we already know what He's going to ask us to change.

But here's the beautiful tension: the very fact that you're aware you need to change is God drawing you back. That conviction isn't condemnation; it's invitation. God is pulling you closer, calling you to something better.

When You Can't Pray for Yourself
The Israelites found themselves so far from God that they didn't even know how to approach Him. They had to ask Samuel: "Pray for us."

There's profound wisdom here. Sometimes we get so lost, so broken, so confused that we can't even form the words. That's when we need intercessory prayer—people who will stand in the gap for us, who will cry out to God on our behalf when we don't have the strength.

Maybe you're there right now. Maybe you've been struggling so long that you don't even know what to ask for anymore. Find someone who can pray for you. Let them lift you up when you can't lift yourself. The fervent prayers of the righteous accomplish much, and sometimes those prayers sustain us when our own faith falters.

God Fights When We Praise
Here's where the story takes a dramatic turn. As Samuel offered sacrifices and the people gathered to worship, the Philistines—their old enemies—prepared to attack. The people were afraid. They had been defeated by these same enemies before.
But something remarkable happened: "The Lord thundered with a great thunder."
Notice that God didn't just whisper. He didn't gently blow wind. He thundered. And the enemy was thrown into confusion and defeated.

The implication is startling: God inhabits the praises of His people. When we praise, God moves. When we lift our voices, heaven responds. When we worship with everything in us, the atmosphere shifts and the enemy retreats.

Could it be that some of us aren't seeing breakthrough because our praise is lukewarm? If we praise our favorite sports team with more enthusiasm than we praise the God who saved us, something is desperately wrong. If we know every statistic about players but can't quote a single scripture, we've misplaced our passion.

God doesn't just want our polite acknowledgment. He wants our exuberant, unashamed, wholehearted worship—the kind that makes others uncomfortable, the kind that doesn't care who's watching.

Marking the Moment
After the victory, Samuel did something crucial: he set up a stone and called it Ebenezer, meaning "stone of help." He proclaimed, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."
This wasn't just about remembering a battle. It was about marking the spot so they would never forget what God had done.

We need our own Ebenezers—reminders of God's faithfulness that anchor us when storms come. When you look back over your life, don't get stuck on the struggles. Find those moments where God showed up, where He made a way, where He provided when you had nothing.

Maybe it was the time you should have lost your mind but God kept you sane. Maybe it was when you had every right to retaliate but God gave you grace to walk away. Maybe it was when the doctor's report was bad but God brought healing. Maybe it was simply waking up this morning with breath in your lungs.
Mark those spots. Remember them. Celebrate them. Because if God did it before, He'll do it again.

The Invitation to Reset
As we move into a new year, we're being offered a divine reset. It's time to:

• Release what we can't reverse. Stop rehearsing the trauma. Let go of the vomit you keep returning to.
• Reset your focus. Stop looking at the enemy and start looking at God.
• Reload your faith. Remember that the same God who brought you through before is still with you.
• Reengage with purpose. Step back into the fight knowing that greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Your next season doesn't have to mirror your last. Your future isn't determined by your past. The same God who thundered for the Israelites will thunder for you—but you have to be willing to put away the idols, embrace the change, and lift your praise.

Moving Forward
Don't treat your next relationship like your last one. Don't approach your new opportunity with old fears. Don't enter 2026 expecting the same struggles of 2025.
If God brought you this far, He didn't do it to leave you—He did it to take you further.
So lift your hands. Raise your voice. Give God the praise He deserves. And watch what happens when heaven thunders on your behalf.
The best is yet to come.