For Those Who Are Ending the Year Disappointed: Choose Praise Anyway

She got married this year.


He got a promotion.


She bought a high-rise apartment.


He got a new car.

It can be discouraging to watch what everyone else accomplished this year,
especially when there are only a few days left
and your prayers feel unheard
and your tears seem endless.

The beginning of a new year is supposed to be a celebration,
but for some of us, it’s a reminder
of dreams delayed
and hopes deferred.

How do we believe in what’s coming next year.
When our faith feels like it’s hanging by a thread?
How do we rejoice
when disappointment has settled in our heart?

But maybe we can choose where we place our focus.
Not on what didn’t happen this year,
but on what did.

The small victories.
The quiet blessings we often overlook.

Life itself is a gift.
There were things the Lord protected us from
that we never even saw.
His mercy carried us through this entire year.

Maybe the breakthrough didn’t come the way we expected.
Maybe the promise wasn’t fulfilled on our timeline.
But prayers were still answered and something still happened beneath the surface  

Growth.
Refinement.
Purification.

Your faith was tested.
You were tried by fire
and you came out as pure gold.

The season of planting
is just as important as the season of reaping 

The seeds planted this year
will soon produce a bountiful harvest.

So don’t end this year in despair.
End it in praise.

Praise not only for what God did,
but for who He is.
He keeps His word.
He keeps His promises.

And soon,
we will cry tears of joy instead of tears of sorrow.
Because our joy is not found in our circumstances. Our joy is found in the only One
who gives true joy.

So choose to believe God’s Word,

Choose to enter this new year with faith.

Choose to rejoice.

Choose to hope.

even in the silence,

even when it feels like nothing is happening,

God is still working behind the scenes,

He’s working everything together for your good

and one day you’ll understand that this was all a part of His masterplan. 

Scriptures to Meditate On : Ephesians 3:20, John 3:16, Jeremiah 29:11, Proverbs 2:3-6, Proverbs 3:5-6