Moving Forward - With Special Guest Erika Maxey

As we enter a new year, we all carry different experiences - some filled with joy, others marked by struggle. The key to moving forward isn't about having a perfect year or leaving everything behind, but about trusting God's presence in all circumstances. Isaiah 43:18-19 reminds us that God is doing something new, making pathways through our wilderness seasons. Whether we're recovering from difficulties or celebrating blessings, moving forward requires faith rather than clarity. God doesn't promise easy paths, but He promises to walk alongside us, providing new mercies each day and going before us into the unknown.

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Transcript

Me again.

So, thanks. Chuck goes. So. So this morning. Well, I'll tell you guys a little backstory.

So usually when Matt asks me to step in for him, I'm, like, finding any excuse. No, I can't. No, I'm too busy. We've got this or whatever. And usually I'll stew on it for a minute.

And anyway, this time when he asked me, I was like, what am I going to talk about? Let's talk about this. Anyway, so I didn't. We stewed on it. And anyway, somehow here I am.

But I know we're three weeks into the new year already, and as we step into the new year, we're all coming into into the new year in different ways. We have different stories, we have different experiences that we're all bringing with us. And for some of us, it was really tough year. We're happy to see 2025 go because we've suffered either from grief, disappointment, or just exhaustion from the year. So for some of us, and I'm going to tell you, it is me, I'm sure some of you are, too, but I'm glad to wave by to 2025.

Some of us are excited for 2026 or. Well, yeah, we're excited and we're grateful for the past year because it was full of joy, growth and blessings. However, I think a lot of us carry a mixture of all of that.

You know, the joy, the sadness, hope, exhaustion, even uncertainty. So I'll tell you that Jason, my husband, loves the new year. He's like, oh, I feel like it's a clean slate. I feel like it's rewriting a whole new year and it's his favorite. You.

Yeah.

I'm going to be honest with you. I. If I could paint you a visual, I would say that I army crawled, like, on my stomach, army crawling and just flat laid out across the finish line. Like, I was like, oh, hallelujah, I made it. You know, don't get me wrong, it hasn't been all.

It hasn't been all terrible. But, you know, like I said, Hannah's unexpected surgery and Christmas. And then I was sick and I have a cousin with brain cancer that we take care of. And all in December. I was like, Christmas became a forget about you and me.

Let's just finish up for the kids and the grandbaby. And, you know, it was like, oh, well, your stuff might be coming after Christmas. And then we've got end of the year. And it's just a lot. And I know a lot of you guys share different things with that.

But, you know, and don't get me wrong, like I said, it hasn't been all bad. We've also been incredibly blessed. But it was exhausting, you know? So I'm not trying to be a negative Nelly, but I can't wrap my head around that New Year, new Year, new Year, new you. Because I'm still dragging some of 2025 with me, you know, like, I'm closing out 2025, which is not uncommon.

But, you know, we're bringing things into 2026 that still need to be taken care of. So. Amen. Yeah. You know, but no matter what kind of year we've had, we've all had the same invitation into this year, and that's moving forward with God.

So my question for us today isn't whether last year was good or bad, but regardless of how our year was, how do we move forward faithfully being reminded that God is with us in all things? So I have some scripture, Isaiah 43, 18:19 says, and I didn't put it in my notes here, so I'm going to read it from the screen. Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing now. It springs up.

Do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Is that the one that I have another one right after it. Okay, so when I was looking through scripture, I liked this version also. So we're going to read it too.

But forget all that. It is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun. Do you not see it?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Something about that just spoke to me and I liked it. Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing.

God is not limited by a hard year or defined by a good one. For those who had a hard year, this is a word of hope. Because our pain does not get the final say. Moving forward after a tough year means carrying the story but not being controlled by it. A tough year shapes us, but it does not get to define us.

Moving forward means we acknowledge the loss, disappointment, or the wounds without letting them become our identity. We can tell the hard stories, but we also trust that God is still writing the story. Forget the former things does not mean erase, means don't let them imprison you. And something I'll add there also is that some of those stories and some of those Hardships that while they, I'm gonna be honest, while they suck at the moment, are used later on down the road to help or walk alongside somebody else that may be going through the same thing. So don't let them imprison you.

For those who had a good year, this is also a word of wisdom. God is reminding us not to live looking backward. Even at blessings, gratitude matters. But getting wrapped up in our past successes can quietly become a substitute for trust. Yesterday's faithfulness does not carry us through today.

We need God. Whether last year stretched us or strengthened us, God is still working on us and is doing something new. Scripture tells us that, so we're hanging on to that. Moving forward is not confidence in the outcome, it's confidence in God's presence.

When we join with God, he doesn't promise that everything's going to be laid out for us and it's all going to be figured out and we're going to have answers. But he does promise to walk alongside us in the good and bad always.

So what does it look like to walk forward after a good year? Moving forward after a good year doesn't mean assuming the momentum will carry us. A good year is a gift, but it can also be a temptation. And I think that both a good year, I think in both good times and hard times, I think it becomes a distraction and sometimes it can pull us away from focusing on God. And even though, you know, if we lean, we lean into him when we're struggling or we thank him when we're happy, sometimes we overlook that and it becomes, it becomes a distraction and it kind of pulls us, it can pull us away.

Scripture shows us that a blessing is not a finish line. It's a responsibility. It looks like humility instead of self reliance. A good year can tempt us to trust our systems, skills or success. Moving forward with God means remembering every good gift came from Him.

I'm trying really hard to stay to my notes because I get derailed so much. You guys, not even kidding. Gratitude without complacency. We give thanks for what God has done, but we don't stop seeking what he is still doing. We celebrate without settling.

Open hands, not clenched fists. Blessings are never meant to be hoarded. A good year invites us to ask who else is God calling me? To serve, to encourage, to lift up faith. Still listens.

Even in good seasons, God may redirect us, stretch us, or call us into something uncomfortable. Moving forward means remaining teachable, listening to where we are being called. And if you get called out of Your comfort zone. Oh, bless you. I'm just going to tell you now.

You can try and try and say maybe later, maybe later, or you can try to ignore it. And it's just going to get that feeling, that calling, that tug on your heart is just going to get stronger. So you can question it, but be ready. Eventually you're going to need to do it. A good year does not mean that we no longer need God.

A lot of time. It reveals just how much we do need God. Romans 8:38 39 reminds us again, I didn't put it in my notes. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God.

So as we are coming into the new year, a reminder that God is with us then and he is with us now. He was with us in our struggles of last year, and he's with us in our celebration. His presence in our lives does not change just based on our circumstances. The calendar changed, God did not. We don't move forward because last year was good or bad.

We move forward because God is faithful in every season.

Moving forward requires us to trust because we are not certain. We often want clarity. We want a plan or a direction before we start taking the next step forward in anything we do. But faith does not require full visibility. But it does require trust, hope, and obedience.

Whether we are healing from loss or stepping out of blessing, the future is still unknown. God does not promise us clarity, but he promises us his presence.

Moving forward. Trusting God when the grief hasn't fully healed, the joy hasn't faded, but the next steps feel unclear, making us uncomfortable and unsure of taking them. The future doesn't look like the past for continued growth in anything. We cannot stay in the past. We must move forward if we want to continue to grow.

Okay, I've got another scripture ready. Lamentations 3:22 23 says and I used a different version for this. I put this up there because normally we use Excuse me, the NIV and I. I don't know if it's from years of youth curriculum stuff, but I always search different versions for ones that speak clearly. A lot of time it's niv, but I like this one. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness, His mercies are new every morning. That's kind of comforting, you know. I mean, new mercy is just as necessary after a good year as it is after a hard one.

Success does not eliminate our need for grace. Joy does not replace our dependence on God. Every season and really every day begins the same way, with mercy we did not earn and the grace that we still desperately need.

I'm going to close with this. I don't even know what time it is, but I'm going to close with this. No matter what last year was painful or fruitful, God calls us to move forward. Forward from disappointment, forward from success, forward from fear, forward from our comfort zones, not with the confidence in ourselves, but with the confidence in God, the God who goes before us and the God who walks beside us. So today we can be confident in taking the next faithful steps.

And we can be okay with not knowing that everything lies ahead, but trusting that God will be with us in all things. Perhaps the greatest comfort for us as we dive into this new year is knowing that God is already there. The God who met us in joy and carried us through struggle is waiting ahead of us, preparing mercy, guidance and strength for what comes next. We do not walk into the unknown alone. One more Scripture, Deuteronomy 31:8 says, the Lord himself goes before you and will be with you.

He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. The Lord himself goes there before you. Confidence in his presence is already there for us.

We just have to. We have to believe. And we have to know that he is already there, working, laying plans out for us, and take those steps. So I encourage you, if you are struggling, or even if you aren't, to get into Scripture. Find Scripture that gives you encouragement, comfort and strength.

Take a post it, put it up on your mirror so that every day you're reminded that God is already ahead, working in your favor.

And just use that as a reminder that you're not alone. So let's pray.

Gracious God, we thank you for carrying us through last year. Whether the hardship or blessings, as we move forward, keep us humble, humble, grateful and dependent on you. Remind us that you are already there and that we can lean on you, Lord, in every season of life, knowing that you are working for us. It's in your name we pray. Amen.