Looking Back with Gratitude: Reflecting on God's Faithfulness This Year

As we approach the end of another year, there's something uniquely powerful about pausing to look back. The days blur together so quickly, the ordinary moments, the unexpected challenges, the small victories that we often rush forward without truly acknowledging the journey we've traveled.

This year has been a year of God's faithfulness. Perhaps you didn't always feel it in the moment. Maybe there were seasons when the path seemed unclear, when circumstances felt overwhelming, or when you questioned whether God was truly present. Yet here you are, standing at the threshold of a new year, and that itself is testimony to His steadfast care.

Think back to the moments when you needed help most. This year I was facing a lot of uncertainty with two major health issues - kidney cancer and a heart condition. I literally was facing these one on top of the other.

God was faithful to me in so many ways. Unexpected text messages, phone calls and emails supporting me in the fight for my future. What about you? Was it a friend who appeared exactly when you needed encouragement? A door that opened unexpectedly? A strength that rose up within you when you had nothing left to give? These weren't coincidences. They were the fingerprints of a God who promised never to
leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5).

Gratitude has a way of reshaping our perspective. When we take time to acknowledge how God has been our helper through the victories and the valleys we begin to see the year not as a series of random events, but as a story of divine care woven throughout. The challenges that seemed insurmountable at the time? They became opportunities to discover that God's grace is sufficient (2 Cor 12:9-10).

The uncertainties that kept us awake at night? They taught us to trust in something greater than our own understanding.

As you reflect on this year, write down the moments when you saw God's hand at work. Not
just the big, obvious answers to prayer, but the quiet faithfulness too.

The provision that came through.
The healing that began.
The relationships that deepened.
The growth that happened in the hidden places of your heart.

This practice of gratitude isn't just about feeling good, it's about building a foundation of
faith for what comes next.

When we remember God's faithfulness in the past, we strengthen our confidence in His faithfulness for the future.

James Anson