Every December and January, the same language returns. Best year yet. Personal growth. Goals. Optimisation. Even in Christian circles, we often ‘Christianise’ the same instincts with spiritual language: better habits, bigger impact, clearer vision, greater effectiveness.
None of those things are wrong in and of themselves. But Scripture repeatedly redirects our attention away from making a year about us and towards something far simpler—and far more demanding.
What if we stopped asking whether 2026 will be “our year” and instead asked whether it will be a year of faithfulness to God?
Not a year of platform-building, visibility, or even measurable success. Instead a year of fearing God, walking with him, and remaining obedient whether anyone notices or not.
Exodus 1 helps us see why that question matters.
Exodus 1: Faithfulness in the Shadows
Exodus opens not with Moses, miracles, or mighty acts of deliverance, but with quiet obedience under pressure.
Israel is fruitful, numerous, and threatening to Pharaoh’s sense of control. His response is oppression, then the killing of innocent children. And into that darkness step two women most readers skim past: Shiphrah and Puah.
“But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.” (Exodus 1:17)
They are not leading a revolution. They are not preaching sermons. They are not shaping policy. They simply refuse to obey an ungodly command because they fear God more than Pharaoh.
And the text is explicit: they feared God.
Their faithfulness does not immediately overthrow Egypt. It does not end suffering. But it preserves life. It quietly resists evil. And it places them squarely within God’s redemptive purposes.
In many ways, Exodus begins not with power, but with fear of the Lord expressed through costly obedience.
Fear of God Before “Best Year Ever”
The fear of the Lord is not anxiety or dread. It is a settled, weighty awareness that God is God and we are not; that his word matters more than outcomes; that obedience is not contingent on results.
That sits uncomfortably with our goal-driven culture, and sometimes with our ministry culture too.
We often measure our years by growth, clarity, fruitfulness, or progress. Scripture more often measures people by faithfulness.
Jesus does not commend the servant who maximised visibility, but the one who was faithful with what he was given (Matthew 25). Paul does not describe his ministry in terms of success, but in terms of stewardship (1 Corinthians 4:1–2).
The call is not to make 2026 impressive, but obedient.
What Might a Year of Faithfulness Look Like?
Faithfulness is not abstract. It shows up in daily practices, quiet decisions, and long obedience in the same direction. Here are some practical ways to orient a year around fearing God rather than curating ourselves.
1. Prioritise the Ordinary Means of Grace
Before adding new initiatives, ask whether you are attending to the basics: Scripture, prayer, the Lord’s Supper, and the gathered church.
A year of faithfulness may mean reading the Bible slowly rather than ambitiously. It may mean praying honestly rather than eloquently. It may mean committing to your local church when it feels unremarkable.
Growth in godliness rarely comes through novelty, it comes through constancy.
2. Obey God Where It Costs You
Shiphrah and Puah feared God when obedience was dangerous.
For us, faithfulness may cost reputation, comfort, career progression, or social ease. It may involve saying no when compromise would be easier, speaking truth when silence would be safer, or remaining patient when vindication feels overdue.
Ask not, What will this do for me? but, Is this faithful to God?
3. Resist Measuring Everything by Outcomes
Evangelicals are often tempted to evaluate everything by visible fruit: numbers, responses, engagement, impact.
But faithfulness is not outcome-blind; it is obedience-centred.
Plant the seed. Teach the text. Love the people. Speak the truth. Leave the results with God.
This is as true for professors and pastors as it is for parents, students, and church members.
4. Cultivate the Fear of God Intentionally
The fear of the Lord does not grow automatically. It is shaped by what we attend to.
Read Scripture that magnifies God’s holiness. Sing hymns and songs that emphasise his greatness, not merely our feelings. Sit under preaching that takes God seriously. Pray prayers that begin with who God is before moving to what we want.
A small God produces anxious Christians. A big God produces faithful ones.
5. Stay Faithful in Hidden Places
Much of Christian obedience happens where no one applauds: private integrity, unseen repentance, quiet perseverance, unnoticed service.
Exodus 1 reminds us that God works through obedience long before he works through spectacle.
Your faithfulness this year may never trend. It may never be public. But it will not be wasted.
A Better Question for 2026
Instead of asking, What do I want this year to be for me?, ask:
- Where is God calling me to trust him?
- Where do I need to obey rather than optimise?
- Where am I tempted to fear people more than God?
Make 2026 a year not of self-reinvention, but of reverent obedience. A year shaped less by ambition and more by awe.
God does extraordinary things through ordinary people who fear him.
That is not a flashy resolution—but it is a deeply biblical one.
Chalmers' Blog 