2026: Jesus, Our Delight!

Sitting at my desk in my study, after I walked for 20 minutes on the treadmill standing in the corner. Not a new year’s resolution. Just a necessary correction the past few weeks as life’s pace slowed down during the festive season. I don’t have any new year’s resolutions. Yet. My new year will only start once school starts. I follow the highly advanced moms calendar and new year is only then. The first day of school is when we throw the confetti and celebrate.

But tonight I am sitting on the brink of a new season. Tomorrow is our first staff meeting with new staff. New training, more discipling. Glorious LIFE! And as with all change, the unkown is rather overwhelming. And unfortunately, the more I know, I know less. Strange but true.

And the only words, I can muster, that keep playing over and over in my head is ‘Jesus help’. At the start of a new year and new things, there is so much to be expectant for and so many possibilities! But it far exceeds my abilities. Hence the overwhelming desperation for supernatural help, despite being fully rested.

Indeed, grateful for rest! We’ve been on much needed leave the past few weeks which enabled us to visit other churches on Sundays and I have to say that we are blessed with amazing Lampstands aka churches in this city. And every Lampstand is unique in it’s expression of life and love. Perhaps you feel like your church is not great or whatever. I can assure you that there is no perfect church. But as far as a community filled with life and hope and joy goes, church is certainly it!

This past Sunday, we visited another church and the preacher spoke about the story of the prodigal son. If you’ve never read it, it’s in Luke 15. It is a story that Jesus told to the crowds, specifically, the pharisees who were complaining about Jesus’ company. And it’s a pretty cool one. It’s about two brothers. The younger one gets rebellious and leaves. But comes back, repentant and is forgiven. The older brother stays but gets offended by his Father’s actions toward the younger brother.

And so the preacher starts reading the passage of scripture:

“But he (the older brother) was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.” Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭25‬-‭29‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Wait. What?! He said he never disobeyed?! For some reason I have not ever picked up on this.

“The older brother wanted what the Father could give him, but not the Father Himself” Ouch.   

So here’s my musings, inspired by Sunday’s preach: The older brother lived out of duty, not beauty.

In Luke 15 – the parable of the prodigal son – we see that living only from obligation, determined never to disobey, is not enough. That path often leads to comparison and resentment. God desires more than rule-following; He invites us to delight in Him. We are called to more than a set of rules — we are called to an intimate relationship with a righteous, deeply personal Ruler. Our service should not be driven by duty, but by His beauty.

This year, instead of focusing primarily on avoiding sin or merely doing the right things, what if we focused on walking closely with God?

He gives us a new heart and continually renews it. Without heart-level transformation, our actions grow cold. They fade. They compare. They become discontent.

So walk close to God. Let Him fuel the passion of your heart, and let that passion be expressed in the way you live.

As Henri Nouwen said, “Jesus says, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,’ not ‘I am the doctrine, the theory, and the program.’”

Not sure what you determined to do or not to do this year… May we not only know God as our helper, but find in Him our greatest delight – one that encompasses every part of our lives.

May we, like the younger brother, run into the arms of our Father. Continually. Daily. Not only when we sin, but simply because He is a good good King and our closest friend.

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light.” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭37‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

How do you delight yourself in the Lord?

May 2026 be the year we chase hard after Jesus. And as a result, shine bright – being the light!