Releasing Expectations and Receiving God’s Invitation for 2026

Sometimes they are loud and obvious: goals, plans, resolutions, hopes for change.

Other times they are quiet whispers buried beneath exhaustion: “Just please let this year not be like last year, Lord.”

As the calendar turns, expectations have a way of forming whether we intend them to or not. We may expect relief, clarity, breakthrough, healing, or movement after long seasons of waiting. Or we may expect disappointment, because disappointment feels safer than hope.

Expectations are a funny thing. Not “ha-ha” funny, but subtle and powerful. They often form unnoticed and then quietly shape our emotional and spiritual posture. We don’t always realize how much weight we’ve placed on them until they go unmet.

Unmet expectations can leave us weary and disillusioned. We find ourselves settling into the same patterns, the same internal dialogue, the same cycles. And yet deep within, we know this isn’t the abundant life Jesus spoke of. It isn’t the fullness He created us for or secured for us.

So what if we changed it up this year?

Expectations are rarely neutral. They carry assumptions about how  life should unfold. When we set them unconsciously, they can begin to direct our thoughts, emotions, and even our prayers.

Consider the resolutions that resurface every January. We often return to them with sincerity and good intention, only to watch them fade by the end of the month. Or we hold onto hopes that this will finally be the season where everything shifts, only to feel discouraged when nothing obvious changes.

When expectations lead, we often interpret God’s goodness through outcomes. If things go well, we feel affirmed. If they don’t, we question what we missed or what went wrong. Over time, this can quietly erode trust and replace expectancy with guardedness.

This is not the abundant living Jesus promised. Abundance is not found in perfectly met expectations. It is found in relationship, communion, and trust. It flows from walking with God, not racing ahead of Him.

What if the invitation for this year is not to expect more—but to listen more?

What if instead of entering the year braced for outcomes, we entered it surrendered?

There is something profoundly freeing about placing our expectations back into God’s hands. He is not surprised by the year ahead. He already knows what is coming. He is for you. He is not against you. He is a good Father who delights in giving good gifts.

When we transfer expectations to God, we move from striving to receiving. We shift from controlling the narrative to participating in His.

This begins with something deceptively simple: stopping.

Stopping long enough to ask, “God, what are You doing?”

Stopping long enough to wait for His response.

Stopping long enough to trust that His timing and wisdom surpass our own.

God is not in a hurry. He is deeply present. And He desires to speak—not just about what you should do, but about who you are becoming.

Take a moment. Sit with Him. Ask Him what He wants you to know about 2026. Write it down. Share it with someone who loves you. Hold it close and walk it out gently.

Coaching creates space to explore what is shifting beneath the surface. It invites curiosity instead of pressure and discernment instead of striving.

You’re invited to hop onto my calendar for a 30-minute conversation—no charge, no commitment—simply a space to listen together and see what God might reveal.