A New Year’s Devotional to Move You Forward in Faith
New Year’s Eve often brings big goals, tidy plans, and the hope that this year, we’ll finally get it right. But transformation rarely begins with perfect preparation. More often, it begins with one small, shaky act of obedience: getting up.
“So she got up… her face was no longer downcast.” — 1 Samuel 1:18
“So he got up and went to his father.” — Luke 15:20
I’ve always lingered on the moment Hannah rises from prayer in 1 Samuel 1. After pouring out her grief before the Lord, Scripture tells us she went away and ate, and her face was no longer darkened by sorrow. Nothing about her circumstances had changed…yet. She didn’t have her long-awaited child. But she stood, choosing to trust, and that single movement marked a turning point.
In Luke 15, the prodigal son also gets up. But his moment looks very different. He is surrounded by the stench of pigs and the weight of his own failure. His rising isn’t polished—it’s desperate. His obedience begins not with confidence, but with the decision to leave the mud and head toward home. And still, those same words mark his transformation: “So he got up.”
Different stories. Different motivations. Same necessary motion.
They didn’t stay where they fell.
Faith That Moves Our Feet
We sometimes treat obedience as a private agreement with God—something we think or feel. But obedience in Scripture consistently moves beyond intention. It walks into conversations we don’t want to have. It shows up to serve when we’d rather hide. It begins new things even when we feel unqualified. It takes the first step toward healing and restoration.
Wherever God invites you this year—toward surrender like Hannah or toward repentance like the prodigal—obedience will eventually require motion. If you aren’t sure what to do next, begin with a simple act of rising. Stand up in your spirit. Choose to trust. Ask God to show you the next step, and when He does, take it.
This Theme Echoes Across Scripture
Peter was told by an angel in his prison cell, “Quick, get up,” and when he obeyed, the chains fell. The paralyzed man in John’s Gospel heard Jesus say, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk,” and healing came as he moved. Elijah, collapsed under the weight of exhaustion and fear, heard God’s messenger tell him twice, “Get up and eat,” and strength began to return. And on the third day, the greatest victory was announced with a similar proclamation: “He has risen!” Jesus Himself stood in triumphant obedience, defeating death and darkness forever.
There is resurrection power in rising.
Obedience isn’t just belief—it’s movement. This year, like Hannah and the prodigal son, may we get up and follow God one faithful step at a time.
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A New Beginning Starts Here
“So she got up.”
“So he got up.”
Two short sentences with a profound shift.
You may not feel ready. You may not know the whole path. You may not even believe you can go very far. But when God calls, your first obedience is simply to rise. Don’t wait for the emotions to catch up. Don’t wait for perfect clarity. Don’t wait for ideal timing.
If God is calling you forward, take that first step.
Let this be the posture of your new year: faith that stands, obedience that moves.
A Prayer to Begin the Year
Lord, help me rise when You call.
Give me courage when the path feels uncertain.
Strengthen my faith to move—one step, one moment, one act of obedience at a time.
This year, draw me closer to You with every rising.
Amen.
If this felt timely for you, you might know someone else who could use the same reminder. Sharing it, however feels natural to you, could be a simple way to bless another heart.
Amen