How to Grow with God in 2026
Time really does feel like it’s passing us by faster and faster every year. It’s hard to believe we’re already in 2026, at the start of a brand-new year. This year is filled with opportunities and open doors that God has waiting for us. There may be some tough times and challenges that lay ahead, but we can do all things through Christ who is our strength. God’s plan and purpose for each of us is perfect and unique and so we need to ask Him to guide us and help us through the year to achieve all that He has planned for us.
January is usually a time where we focus on what we’d like to achieve and experience in the upcoming year. I’m sure, like most of us, you’ve thought about a few new year’s resolutions and goals that you’d like to achieve in 2026. Having goals and plans for the year is an important part of personal growth, but as children of God, it’s even more important for us to involve God in the plans we make and let Him lead the way.
This post is all about partnering with God and letting Him lead the way for us through 2026. These steps will help you, and me, to walk in step and side-by-side with Our Saviour through the upcoming year.
Pray and Seek God’s Will
If you’ve already written down, or even started with your new year’s resolutions, that’s awesome and I’m proud of you! As your sister in Christ, I’d like to challenge you a little further and encourage you to have another look over your goals and plans for the year during your quiet time with the Lord. Pray to Him and ask Him if these are the things He wants you to focus on in 2026, or if He wants you to add or take away certain things from the list you’ve made. You may have your own plans, but do they line up with God’s plans?
As His children, we love The Lord and want to obey Him and seek His will in everything we do. That’s why it’s so important to include God when we are planning our lives and setting goals for the year – it allows us to focus on what He has planned for us and the opportunities that He has for us in the upcoming year.
God’s plans are much more beautiful and better than anything we could ever think or imagine, so give Him your plans and goals and let Him lead you to His will and direction for you in this new year. What do you sense God asking you to focus on this year? Pray and seek His will and all you do will be successful.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Don’t make Rushed Decisions – Ask God for Wisdom
We are faced with making countless decisions in life, some small and some really big and life-changing. The world is fast-paced and rushed and we feel pressured to make decisions in the same way. The problem is that rushed decisions are often unwise decisions.
Proverbs 3:13-15
God blesses everyone who has wisdom and common sense. Wisdom is worth more than silver; it makes you much richer than gold. Wisdom is more valuable than precious jewels; nothing you want compares with her.
In the book Proverbs, God shows us how important wisdom is if we want to live joyful and successful God-centred lives. The decisions we make every day will impact our futures, so we need to slow down and ask God for wisdom in every area of our lives. Whether the decision is big or small, God cares about all the details of your life and He wants the best for you. A book that I really enjoyed on the subject of wisdom and the Proverbs is In Search of Wisdom by Joyce Meyer.
Don’t make rushed decisions, pray and seek God’s wisdom so that the choices you make daily reflect God’s will for you. When you have big choices to make, take a few days or weeks to really spend time with God and ask Him what to do. He will guide your steps and give you the wisdom you need to live a life that honours God and brings you peace and joy.
Slow Down and Schedule in Quiet Time
In the society we live in, productivity and busyness are worn as a badge of honour. Rest is seen as something you have to earn and we feel pressured to keep up with the same pace as everyone else. God doesn’t expect us to live like this, in fact, rest is something that He encourages in His Word.
Rest is something we all need to take seriously. It helps us to slow down and be mindful of how we feel and what our body, mind and spirit need in order to be refreshed. It gives our brain a break from constantly being in productivity mode and allows us to recharge. Rest fills us with peace, creativity and energy to be able to do what we need to do every day.
One of the best ways you can find rest is in the arms of Our Lord, during your quiet time with Him. Slow down and set time aside every day to spend with God. Thank Him for His goodness and give Him praise for all He has done to help you. Speak to Him about anything in your life that feels heavy, so that you can lay the heaviness down at His feet and find rest in His presence. Get still before The Lord and He will give you what you need. In the stillness is where you will be able to fully hear the voice of God and discern which way the Holy Spirit is directing you to go. Making time to do this every day will help keep you aligned to the purpose and plan God has for you for the upcoming year.
Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Nourish Your Body and Build Strength
We have all probably had a new year’s resolution of losing weight or going to the gym at one stage or another in our lives. (Probably quite a few years in a row for most of us!) The problem is we start the year off feeling keen and super motivated and by the second week of January, we hit a slump, lose motivation and end up finding any excuse to get out of going to the gym. It’s hard work to stick to exercise and healthy eating, especially because all the flesh wants is comfort, convenience and a lot of chocolate!
By praying and asking God to help us with our health and fitness goals, we are taking ourselves, and the flesh, out of the equation. It might seem silly to us to pray about our healthy eating plan and exercise routine, but God cares about every detail of our lives. He wants to lighten our burdens and help us.
We also need to respect our bodies as the home of The Lord. The Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. We should treat our bodies as the blessings they are and fuel them with food filled with nutrients and get daily exercise so we can be fit and strong.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you… Therefore honour God with your bodies.
God has personally helped my husband and myself in this area. At a stage, we were constantly craving fast food and sugary snacks and we had no energy or motivation to do any exercise, apart from our daily walk. We made space for God to work in the situation and asked Him to help us to get healthy and strong. Little by little God took away the fast-food cravings we had, and even when we did have take-away food, it started tasting really bad to us both and we actually prefer our home-made nutritious meals. God also helped us to find the energy to do strength training exercises a few times a week and has kept us motivated by prompting us through the Holy Spirit to move our bodies. The more we exercised, the better we felt, too!
This taught me that God can help you overcome anything and He can give you the strength you need to carry you forward in your goals, even when you lose motivation. He is so good to us and He wants to help us with everything we do. The joy of the Lord is our strength!
Pursue Peace and Find Balance
The Lord has victory, prosperity, peace and joy planned for you and will lead you to His purpose through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The enemy has a mission to stop the purpose and plan that God has for your life through attacks on your mind, keeping you distracted and trying to steal your peace.
As Children of God, we are called to put on the armour of God and stand firm in our fight against the enemy. One of the pieces of this armour are the shoes of peace. The shoes of peace help us to stand firm and trust in the Lord, to spread the Good News of the Gospel and to live in and share the peace that Jesus has given us. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and He came so that we could have life in abundance until it overflows!
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Living in peace is one of the most powerful ways we can defeat the enemy and his attacks on our lives. In order to have peace, you must first have balance in all the areas of your life. If you’re working too much and not spending enough time with God or your loved ones, your life is out of balance. If you’re focusing on your health and fitness goals so much that you avoid enjoying a meal with friends, your life is out of balance. If you’re in debt from trying to appear wealthier than you really are, your life is out of balance. We all know what it means to live a balanced, Godly life, but actually living this way takes effort and requires us to be mindful of what we’re doing, instead of going through life living the way the rest of the world is living.
Pursue peace by finding the balance in your life. Let God guide you and show you how to spend your time and what you should be doing every day. He will help you find the balance and keep you in perfect peace.
I pray 2026 will be a year that overflows with blessings from the Lord. Make this the year that your goals align with God’s goals for you. Take yourself off of the hamster wheel of over-productivity and striving and find rest in the peace of The Lord. Seek Him in everything you do and let Him lead you into victory in 2026!
